Let me Listen to that Silence
by Silver-eyed Hyuuga
Summary: A human, yet not quite a human, he was created by the hands of a ruthless yet brilliant scientist. When the Hyuuga meets another who bears the same scars as he, how far will he go to protect the other's sacred secret while protecting his own? NejiNaru, fu
1. Prologue

Silver-eyed Hyuuga has risen from the dead, people! Another multi-chapter NejiNaru coming your way. 3 3 3 Hope you enjoy, and please read and review! Or...eyes flash I shan't continue the story if you don't review. It's kinda meaningless to post ficcies if you have no clue whether your ficcie has been read or not.

Prologue

_The inside of the building was almost too white, shimmering and glittering with the synthetic paint that coated its walls. The pure, blinding white of the room gave it a powerfully ersatz sheen which blinded all that weren't used to the maddening glare. The atmosphere was most forcefully extreme, impressing a perpetual tension on the inexperienced. Tubes, machinery; complicated technology garishly decorated the walls and rooms in macabre, spasmodic designs, interweaving and looping in lurid twists and turns._

"Yes sir, I understand. Yes…yes of course. Could I recommend a slimmer build sir? It seems to suit….yes? Of course. Right away, sir."

_Of course, like any other laboratory, it was filled with scientists of all shapes and sizes. And yet…and yet, among the wide varieties of professors, scientists, and engineers, all shared one thing in common; the hard, cold eyes and abnormally stiff postures gave all a fatally eerie aura, almost as if they were androids operating on sheer apathy. _

"High cheekbones and a sharp jawline are recommended. Commence with the structuring. DNA samples must be taken and observed for further progress."

_The building was structured in such a way that each room led to connecting rooms, which in turn lead to a titanium-cased circular room in the center of the building. Gleaming with a ghostly sheen in the very center of the room stood a single test tube in which floated a greenish, yellow-tinted liquid and a vast web of wires. _

"Progress has been completed, sir. Requesting permission to initiate the prototype."

_Suddenly the whole building was devoid of activity. Scientists stopped in their tracks, every muscle strung taut with anticipation, every nerve sizzling with electricity, alert for the sign._

"Permission granted."

_The edifice exploded with movement. Brows knotted, teeth clenched, minds prayed in anticipation as each and every single data article was sent to the middle room. The test tube pulsed once, twice, thrice, and then suddenly burst apart in a blinding explosion of white-hot light. It glowed, a white rod of purity, illuminating the room with a shattering burst of light. Then, as if the light were suddenly sucked down into a large, yawning vacuum, the room went dark and the whole building shut down. Moments passed; what seemed like an eternity went by, and then suddenly, ever so softly, a dim sphere of light floated in the middle of the tube, then slowly expanded to grace the room with a fluorescent glow._

"It is a success, sir."

He came, long black hair flowing like a river down his broad shoulders. Taking long, measured strides, he walked through the dizzying maze of corridors and halls until he came to a panel. Entering a series of digits, he stood back and waited as the solid metal wall slid back to reveal a darkened, enshrouded room within. Followed by a team of scientists, the man flung open the doors and stalked inside, turning on a set of lights which cast a warm, fluid glow over the room. There inside the test tube floated a large mass of white which slowly dimmed to divulge a mysterious object gently submerged in the now greenish-yellow liquid. Bubbles floated almost lazily to the top of the tank where they dissipated at the surface. Lips stretched in a ghost of a smile as the man surveyed the completed product of his years of tedious labor.

"Indeed it is a success." He pronounced. Hesitant smiles broke across a scattering of faces.

"What shall we call it, sir?" A male assistant almost the man's exact replica said in a voice containing barely restrained excitement. At this the man's mouth curved up even more, showing straight white teeth in a self-satisfied smirk.

"He will be named Hyuuga Neji, in honor of this project and our dedicated toil."

The entire building burst into an explosion of sound as each and every single person let out a cross between a professional sound of approval and a wild, unrestrained whoop of elation. The male assistant, basking in the glory of success, handed the man a small, compact device with a single button in the middle.

"Hiashi-sama, as the director of this experiment," and here he paused for breath, "we feel that you should have the honor of activating him yourself." A warm, boiling feeling of fulfillment filled the man's whole being as he took the device. After a long glance at the small, smooth box, he lifted one callused finger and depressed the red circle in the middle.

The liquid swayed, then quickly drained out of the tube as levers slowly lowered the figure to the bottom of the tank. The glass retracted into their crevices, and the wires retracted into the test tube's frame set into the ceiling. Glossy midnight tresses hung lank around the figure as it lay solitary on the floor of the tank, curled into a fetal position. Sinews and muscle ran taut, intertwining down long, alabaster arms curled around long, lean legs and rigid thighs which connected to a slim, slender waist. The torso was wondrously sculpted, leading to a long, pale neck that connected to a porcelain-hued face that exposed high, finely-etched cheekbones and a sharp jawline. Ebony lashes contrasted against the stark paleness of the skin. The eyebrows were delicately fashioned, elegantly arched near the end, and the nose was smooth and unblemished by any hook or fault. All this Hyuuga Hiashi took in as he silently surveyed his creation.

The figure stirred. Brows came together as he lifted his head, then smoothed out again as he opened magnificent, opalescent eyes. Lips parted as he breathed his first breath. He lifted his head to gaze blankly at his surroundings before stepping unsteadily down from the raised metal pedestal. Strands of obsidian hair draped like a silk curtain from his shoulders and down to mid-knee as he shakily regained his balance. Hyuuga Neji looked up through long, ebony lashes up at his creators and spoke his first words in a honey-smooth baritone that sent pleasurable chills rippling throughout those in the room.

"What…am I?" Hiashi's smile widened in response.

"You are the creation of our labor, the fruit of our efforts. You are Hyuuga Neji, a prototype of the very epitome of a superior human being. We will be running several tests on you before releasing you to interact with other humans, during which we will be documenting your behavior and the behavior of those around you." The man's twin leaned over to Hiashi and spoke in a muted whisper.

"Are you sure it's safe to tell him all of this, sir? He still is very unpredictable, and he might not take well to the information we're giving him. On top of that, since he is superior to even us, he might easily overpower us." He whispered fiercely. Hiashi reassured him.

"I will have made sure he is completely loyal to us in any way we choose. Have no fear of that, Hizashi." He said with mild confidence, then made his way towards the figure before him, extending his arm and placing one large hand on one slim-sculpted shoulder.

"You begin tomorrow, Neji. Where better to interact with other people other than a school, yes? You are young enough; I do think it will suit your needs. Tomorrow you will be enrolled in Monokuromu University as a sophomore. You have all the necessary information as well as a few extra pieces knowledge already inputted into your mind. Or course, you will need to develop your social skills and get used to the conditions, but I'm placing my absolute confidence in that. And starting tomorrow as well, you will live in the Semaruku apartment complex about two miles from the university. We have already set up your lodgings as well." At Neji's comprehensive nod, Hiashi added a subsequent warning.

"Also…don't forget yourself. No matter how temptingly deceptive your surroundings may be, keep a level head and be sure to think each decision you make over carefully. I've stationed my brother Hizashi as a mentor to you in case you have anything you wish to discuss. He will be lodging in the apartment across from yours." He said matter-of-factly. Neji slightly inclined his head in a show of respect.

"It will be as you wish." He said gravely.

"And know this," Hiashi's eyes glittered as he spoke his next words.

"I am your creator. I was the one who gave you life; I was the one who made it possible for you to exist. Without me, you would have never been able to come into existence. You are to swear undying loyalty to me, your creator, for giving you the grace to live your life. You are to do as I say, when I ask." He said in a voice that seemed magnified by the sheer intensity of the words.

He watched in silent trepidation as Neji considered the notion, knowing one wrong move would provoke actions which would perhaps be disastrous. Opalescent eyes gleamed with thought; finally he sank into a bow.

"It will be as you wish."

Later that Evening

Hizashi's scarcely controlled elation seemed to bleed through his skin as he walked with a light buoyancy to the apartment complex, leading Neji onwards at a brisk pace. The Hyuuga followed easily, walking with fluid strides alongside the other man. After the audience with Hiashi, Hizashi had quickly dressed Neji in a pale, white, collared shirt with the barest tint of turquoise and a sleek pair of midnight black pants. A white ribbon held hostage Neji's long curtain of hair, binding up the glorious locks a third of the way down his back. The Hyuuga now observed the regal building of his apartment complex with muted curiosity.

"Which floor am I to reside on?" He asked the other man. Hizashi tossed him a set of keys with a fluid flick of his wrist, which Neji obligingly caught on his index and middle fingers.

"Seventeenth floor, apartment 77A." Hizashi responded, then led the younger Hyuuga to the lobby where the check-in was quickly performed. Loading his companion into the elevator, Hizashi opened the doors at the seventeenth floor and proceeded down to the apartment.

"Here we are. I'm right across from you, so if you ever need anything, my door is always open." He said with mild hospitality and ushered Neji inside, closing the door behind him.

Alone inside the apartment, Neji performed a quick, sweeping survey of his surroundings. The windows stretched from the ceiling to the floor and doubled as sliding doors to the balcony outside. The kitchen was sparse and well-tiled, and the living room was tastefully furnished. Paintings hung from the walls, and a dresser and a mirror were propped up next to the flourishing plant that added greenery to the apartment. Neji unexpectedly felt a smile grace his lips, then recoiled a little, partially shocked. He'd never experienced a feeling like this before…and then he recalled Hiashi saying something of different…emotions, was it? Silently he numbered them off in his mind. There was happiness, sadness, anger, confusion…there were a lot more, but Hiashi had told him he'd eventually experience them as he developed. Pale fingers touched his mouth in brief thought, then Neji shook it off and went to unpack and organize the suitcases Hizashi had provided him with.

After neatly organizing everything into his bedroom and living room, Neji looked around, feeling quite…what was the word? He wracked his mind for the appropriate word to describe what he was feeling…satisfied. Yes, that was it. He was satisfied with his work. A faint smile touched his mouth, and on impulse, Neji gave in to exhaustion and allowed his body to drop onto the surprisingly comfortable cream-colored couch. His head tilted back and he slept, giving into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

So, what doth thou think so far? Good? Bad? In between? Please review, onegai shimasu! 


	2. Silence of the Fox

Thank you very much for all the lovely reviews, minna-san. I hadn't expected so many comments! Thank you again!

To clarify things:

First off, I'm terribly sorry for the way I portrayed Hiashi. I know he's a good man down at heart, but right now I need to focus on his darker side (pre-NejiNaru fight) because he's the only plausible villain I can use that actually works with the characters (Akatsuki has too many people, and Orochimaru's gone after Sasuke, so I need someone to relate to Neji, and Hiashi was the only one who had any authority over him). Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the OOCness, but please bear with me. bows

Also, Neji himself might be a little out of character as well, but because he was just newly created, I'll allow him time to grasp full reign of his self-control and emotions, yes?

ON WITH THE FICCIE!

Chapter 1: Silence of the Fox

The Next Morning

He cracked open one eye and graced the white ceiling with a piercingly intense gaze still glazed over with the remnants of sleep. Neji sat up and opened the other eye, running a hand through his hair…and then realized he was fully clothed. The Hyuuga sat upright, senses snapping to attention as he flicked an alarmed gaze around the room. With the speed of tinder catching fire, he realized he was in his apartment, quite a change from the greenish tint of the liquid he was so used to. His muscles relaxing, Neji quietly padded around the room and busied himself with what Hizashi referred to as "daily activities". That being done, he checked himself briefly in the mirror, fixed a few renegade strands of silk-smooth hair, informed Hizashi that he'd be attending school, and calmly walked downstairs to the garage, where he found a sleek black car in his designated parking area. Pulling out of the garage, the Hyuuga quickly merged with the traffic and easily parked his car in the university parking lot.

The first thought that entered his mind as he glanced at his school was that it was huge. Monokuromu University was a large, majestic campus with stately, glittering blue-and-white buildings scattered randomly throughout the area. Trees of all different species sprouted abundantly around the campus as well as a wide selection of shrubs and bushes. The sidewalks were immaculately designed to lead to different buildings and architecture, and gardens arranged in geometrical shapes adorned the rest of the landscaping. Quickly committing the scenery to memory, Neji deftly unfolded the square of paper on which his schedule was written, then turned and walked towards the heart of the buildings with a long, quietly powerful stride.

There were a fair amount of people at the university already, lounging on the rims of the many fountains or against a random railing or two, chatting idly to pass the time. It took them at most a minute to notice the new addition to their population as he deftly picked his way around the small groups, which considerably decreased the volume in the general vicinity. A slight falter appeared in his stride and Neji slowed, turning to face the first person his eyes fell upon, that being a group of people looking at him with a most abnormal expression in their eyes. They recoiled slightly as he came upon them, and the bizarre looks in their eyes only intensified as the Hyuuga graced them with the full overpowering magnitude of his presence.

"Excuse me, could you possibly direct me to classroom 786A please?" His liquid voice cut smoothly through the silence like a heated knife through mercury. After a long period of awkward silence loudly resonating from those questioned, a girl hesitantly spoke up in a timid voice.

"Uhm…t-that's…Multivariable Calculus, right? You'll want to…to go to that building over there and go to the third floor." Neji nodded his thanks more out of formality than anything else and turned to go.

"W-wait!" The Hyuuga paused and turned ever so slightly. A boy sitting close to the girl from before was now staring directly at Neji's tall form.

"Where are you from? We've never seen you around here before…"

He trailed off as Neji rotated the rest of the way and stared him dead in the eye, his expression curiously distant. A passing breeze blew by, ensnaring a few loose strands of midnight hair and blowing them across the Hyuuga's face. After a long, contemplative silence that coalesced in the air like an almost visible mist, Neji spoke in an odd tone glimmering with unshedvagueness and the faintest taint of confusion.

"I…I don't know. Far away, perhaps." And with that, he turned and melted into the glittering daylight, leaving only a faint silhouette impressed upon mystified minds.

Where indeed had he come from? He did not know. All he knew, all he _remembered_ was being encased in a warm, welcoming environment of nothingness, then suddenly being exposed to the world beyond. He wracked his mind for any memories of a family, then recalled that Hiashi and Hizashi had somehow _created_ him. Ah yes. He remembered now. He was the result of years of intense bio-engineering. He was the fruit of Hiashi's painstaking toil, nothing but a specimen to be observed and tested. And yet…and yet he didn't feel like a mere lab experiment. He didn't feel like anything at all save for a perfectly normal human being. And yet he knew that he wasn't, he knew that he was different…but what was so different about him, he did not know.

So lost in his thoughts was he that he failed to notice his immediate surroundings until they crept upon him and hit him point-blank in the face. A sharp pain stung his right forearm and instinct propelled him to the side just as a body hit the ground behind him. The figure stirred, then spat out a highly explicit invective and stood up, blood running from his mouth. He swayed, staggered, then adjusted his grip on his knife and shot forward in an outraged burst of speed, joining the whirling mass of violence just in front of the Hyuuga. Neji turned and calmly observed the scene happening in front of him. At first it seemed like nothing but a swirling mass of bodies engaging in something like a fight. Neji strained his eyes to catch any sign of movement, but the figures were moving too fast for even the normal eye to see. He strained his eyes even more to catch any hint of solitary movement.

The strangest sensation seemed to fill his body. All of a sudden it seemed like all the warmth circulating throughout his veins seemed to coagulate in his eyes, dripping in his optical senses like liquid sun. The pressure built up to a heated climax, and suddenly Neji could clearly see what was happening. A young boy sporting wheat-bronze hair and ocean-blue eyes was whirling and thrashing in the middle of the melee, singlehandedly defeating what looked like six large, burly thugs.

The Hyuuga noiselessly looked on, pearl-white eyes filled with shock and amazement as the lithe, slender blonde gyrated in a surprisingly controlled dance of fatality that felled opponent after opponent. Bodies were tossed helter-skelter, only to get up and plummet full-force into the fray. The blonde executed a stunning cocktail of stamina, precisely controlled skill, and power in return, slashing and fighting almost gracefully almost as if he had pre-choreographed every single action, perfectly anticipating each and every single attack with well-defined precision.

Each knife-wielding enemy he defeated, only sustaining a scratch as a souvenir. Blood from one opponent's broken nose pooled on the ground, and to Neji's horror the blonde slipped and fell on one hand. One brawny man, seeing his chance, executed a fast, downward thrust with his knife, running a long gash down the boy's fair face. He was met with a knee to the groin, and as he staggered away, the blonde regained his balance and danced with more ferocity than he had ever danced before. At long last, every last one of his opponents fell limp the ground and the blonde stood triumphant in the middle, the very image of a dastardly victorious warrior. Crimson libation streamed down his forehead from a gash stretching from hairline to jaw, and his arm dripped wet, gleaming carmine liquid as he staggered from the unconscious piles of flesh.

He lifted his head and stared directly into Neji's eyes, sending the Hyuuga a silent, desperate plea for help as he plummeted to the ground. Neji deftly swooped down, catching the limp frame and bracing the surprisingly light figure against his body. The blonde's head fell backwards, exposing eyes of the deepest aquamarine hue as he stared lifelessly into Neji's opalescent orbs. Lips quivered as the boy struggled to speak.

"Please."

It was a silent plea for salvation which shot straight to Neji's soul and played a slow, desolate, rolling arpeggio on the strings of his heart. The Hyuuga swallowed, his throat mysteriously blocked by a large lump, his heart turning into a puddle that was pooling somewhere in his general chest cavity. A long-fingered hand touched his brow and Neji nearly staggered, suddenly lightheaded with the unexpected overwhelming rush of emotion. Hizashi never warned him about this…these feelings he felt when looking at this boy. All previous thoughts of his class forgotten, Neji cradled the surprisingly light body of the blonde in his arms and gently laid him down at the foot of a fountain. Sending a noiseless apology to the blonde, he carefully tore a portion of the boy's shirt and gently blotted the blood from the various cuts and scrapes that adorned various parts of the blonde's body.

He lifted his head, squinted at the sun, and tactfully judged the time before returning to his task. He had a fair amount of time before class started; that was good. With a tenderness that surprised even him, he gently sponged and blotted out each and every single spot of blood from the boy's face and hair. That being done, he sat back and just stared at the fallen youth, absorbing each and every single detail about the blonde.

The boy's hair was a gleaming, silky golden-bronze color, with the occasional streak of bleached wheat slithering across at odd, random places. The bangs fell lightly over the smooth, sloping brow, which led to two sun-gilded eyebrows, and beneath them a delicate fringe of sun-emblazoned lashes which rested upon highly-sculpted cheeks. The nose was smooth and had a slender upward turn which gave his face a softened, innocent look. The lips were full and well set, which gave a perpetual quizzical twist to the line of his mouth. And his cheeks…Neji's eyes narrowed in thought. Upon each cheek lay three smooth slashes, engrained into his skin like whiskers. These didn't give him a roughened edge; quite the contrary, the scars only seemed to heighten his naïveté, giving his countenance a curious fox-like quality.

He didn't even notice his hand at first as it crept on a will of its own towards the blonde's features. Indeed, he was faintly startled when he first felt the smooth, pale, creamy skin underneath the pads of his fingers. This boy was a whole new experience, opening his eyes to the world and its wonders, far more fascinating than the solid, imposing steel walls of the laboratory which had served as his foremost home. He continued to stroke the face of the boy, stroking the brow, occasionally smoothing strands of heaven-spun silk from the eyes. Eventually he fell into a sort of rhythm, periodically running the back of his hand against the smooth cheekbones. This induced a hazy, soporific effect upon the Hyuuga, and he lowered his eyes to half-mast as he gently caressed the fallen angel before him.

He felt the pain before he saw the source. The next thing he knew, his hand was being twisted in a painfully awkward angle as five digits clutched it with an iron-clad grasp. Typhoons whirled savagely in twin indigo orbs.

"Don't touch me!"

The words pierced Neji's figure and flayed him alive with chips of steel and metal shrapnel. The Hyuuga recoiled, retrieving his hand with a sharp jerk. Just then, the blonde's sapphire-chipped eyes registered shock as he fully noted his surroundings and he withdrew, the belligerence dying away quickly to be replaced by a soft, gentle, somewhat apologetic look.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I thought you were…never mind." He looked away awkwardly, suddenly finding a stray blade of grass extremely fascinating. Neji smiled hesitantly.

"It is no matter."

The blonde lifted a hand and gingerly inspected the wound on his forehead, eyes registering surprise as fingertips came in contact with cloth. He looked down and saw that a portion of his shirt had been torn away, and that the figure before him still held the blood-stained scraps in his hand. The blonde's mouth thinned as he came to a series of conclusions.

"You…you cleaned me up…didn't you?" He asked timidly. Neji inclined his head in response.

"I am sorry for the tear in your shirt, but there was no other material available." At this the blonde smiled warmly, which seemed to miraculously strip away years from his face, giving him a certain purity despite his prior actions.

"It was an old shirt, don't worry about it." He said gratefully, then shyly extended one pale hand.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto…who are you?" The words came out in a timid, nervous whisper. After a moment's pause, Neji finally registered that he was supposed to grasp it and easily enveloped the hand in his own long-fingered counterpart.

"Hyuuga Neji; I'm a sophomore here at the University." Naruto's eyes instantly lighted up.

"Really? Me too! Hey, can you tell me where my first class is? I've got Multivariable Calculus with Iruka-sensei…"

A smile graced the corners of Neji's mouth and he stood, bringing Naruto with him in one fluid motion.

"I am headed there now. You may accompany me if you wish." He offered. Naruto's grin was more of twisting of his mouth.

"How come you speak like that?" He asked quizzically. Elegant brows creased.

"Is there a problem you find in my speech?" The Hyuuga asked, enticing a giggle from the blonde in return. Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"Noooo…it's just that…not many people speak in such a…how can I put this…" He worked his jaw, searching for the right words, then turned to Neji with the answer on his lips.

"A _professional _tone, you know? Heck, even the Math teacher doesn't speak that formally." He said matter-of-factly. The Hyuuga smiled slightly.

"I can always change colloquial, if you'd rather prefer—"

"No no, I like your professional tone. It compliments your image, you know?" Neji blinked.

"My image?" He asked. Naruto waved a flippant hand.

"Please, have you really looked at yourself in the mirror? As in _really_ looked at yourself?" At Neji's negative answer, the blonde laughed.

"Have you ever seen people look at you in a weird way, almost as if they don't know what to say to you, like they have to absorb you completely before responding?" He asked. The Hyuuga thought back to previous encounters.

"I do believe so." He responded thoughtfully, which induced a wink and a smirk from his companion.

"That's because you're too perfect. Look at yourself. You have the smoothest hair, the slimmest, fittest body, your clothes are practically sketched to the contours of your figure, and your face could rival the best-looking celebrity in the whole face of this godforsaken world." For some strange, indefinite reason, Neji felt his innards turn to a warm puddle of slush at the words the blonde spoke. He turned and gazed curiously at Naruto's mischievous eyes.

"Do you really think so?" The comment sent Naruto into paroxysms of laughter at Neji's blatantly honest question.

"Of course. Mind you, you'll have to know how to fight; such handsome works of art like yourself are bound to be the target of jealousy for most of the male population." He waggled a scandalous finger at the Hyuuga.

"Not to mention the female population. You'll have to wear a poison-tipped chastity belt; girls can get murderous sometimes. Especially the ones in sororities, you'll have to watch out for them. But other than that, you'll do fine." He chirped blithely, then cut a quick glance at the sun above them.

"Damn, we're going to be late…I'll race you to Calculus!" He yelled, then took off like a shot. After a moment's time, Neji quickly followed, a rare, full-fledged smile spreading rapidly across his countenance.

_Is this what a normal human is like?_

Calculus

Naruto slammed open the door and promptly mowed over by the sheer volume of the teacher's tremendously incensed voice, courtesy of a pair of well-toned lungs.

"NARUTO! LATE AGAIN! THIS IS THE SEVENTH TIME YOU'VE BEEN LATE! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR THIS LUDICROUS BEHAVIOR!" He screeched. Naruto irritably ruffled his hair back into its usual whirlwind of blonde spiky locks, a brief scowl marring his features.

"Mou, sensei—" A vein popped in Iruka's forehead and a spasmodic twitch appeared above one eyebrow.

"It better be a good reason, young man, or I'll have you scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush." He snarled menacingly. To his surprise, Naruto perked up.

"You know, I actually do have a plausible alibi!"

And with a flamboyant flourish, the blonde stepped aside, bowed, and presented his quarry. The whole class immediately plunged into a state of awe, bliss, jealousy (the guys), lust (the girls), and utter shock and wonder as they indulged their eyes with the image of the really, really ridiculously good-looking newcomer. Whispers broke out that questioned the origins of this tall, dark, handsome stranger, of his romantic status, of the lack of color in his eyes. Neji stood in full magnificence in the doorway, eyes cast downward, the very quintessence of regality personified. Even Iruka stared. One side of Naruto's mouth curved upwards in an exultant smirk.

"May I present Hyuuga Neji, the latest addition to our _fine_ class?" Each word dripped with excess amounts of sweetly saccharine syrup. Neji suppressed a chuckle and stepped forwards, sinking into a brief bow.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Iruka rehinged his jaw, gaping dazedly at the attractive new vision.

"Uhm…likewise. Have-have a seat." He gestured awkwardly towards two empty seats. Naruto immediately sat himself in the nearest one, pulling the Hyuuga down beside him. Iruka haphazardly cleared his throat, feather-duster ponytail bobbing.

"Now, let's start with the basics…"

_Memo_

_To: QPC_

_From: SRN_

_Subject: Emotional confirmation_

_Content:_

_Sir,_

_Up until said date, subject has shown signs of normal behavior; however, at 9:43 A.M. at said date subject has shown erratic signs of emotion towards anomalous target at 36° 45°; observations include peak in hormone and enzyme levels as well as brain activity and lipids. Further analysis reveals emotional error; please advise._

_Memo_

_To: SRN_

_From: QPC_

_Subject: Re: Genetic confirmation_

_Content:_

_Error may be to advantage; subject is not to be disrupted. Continue closed observation._


	3. Shimmering Sensations

Sorry for the long update, I have no internet at home, so I have to work on the school computers...TT

Chapter 2: Shimmering Sensations

Somewhere

They made quite an odd pair, the Hyuuga and the blonde. Naruto, for some reason unbeknownst to Neji, had a smile the size of Japan smeared like grease all over his face as he eagerly dragged the Hyuuga along the sidewalks towards the small plaza in the middle of the city. Neji, out of a rare impulse to humor the blonde, readily complied, though with a decent level of wariness due to the fact that he'd just met Naruto and wasn't quite sure what to make of him. After a short while, Naruto stopped skipping and slowed to a light, buoyant walk as he spied his destination. He tugged on the Hyuuga's sleeve and abruptly pulled him into the nearby booth, sitting both of them down at the counter.

"Oi, Oji-san! Miso chashu today, please!" The peals of Naruto's tenor danced through the air, and a kindly looking man dressed in a chef's uniform wandered out of the back room, smiling warmly at the blonde.

"Right away, Naruto-kun." He turned to Neji. "And what about you?" Neji's brow creased in perplexity.

"I'm sorry…I don't quite understand…." He could've sworn that Naruto's eyes surpassed their regular size by a factor of four.

"You mean you've never tried ramen before?" He said in a tone that suggested at instant death for those never indulged in the heavenly food. Neji shook his head. Naruto immediately assumed a visage not unlike that of a trained expert commenting on a largely knowledgeable subject.

"Okayyyy…first of all, you're not allergic to anything, right?" At Neji's negative response, the blonde grinned.

"Great. We'll start with shrimp chashu first, okay? Oi, Oij-san! One shrimp chashu please!" He turned and immediately started inhaling his soup, pausing only long enough to mutter a garbled "Itadakimasu" to any available audience.

A rare smile touched Neji's lips as he watched the blonde's enthusiasm. Naruto positively reeked of innocence, always seeming to find something right with the world. His mind started to wander back to their first encounter but was quickly distracted by a steaming bowl of noodles and a pair of chopsticks set in front of him. He looked up, startled, into Teuchi's kind, wrinkled face. The old man smiled and invitingly waved a hand at the meal.

"Go on, eat up."

Neji thanked him and savored his first bite of ramen, the bursts of spice exploding along his tongue in little spurts of hot. Naruto, now halfway through his seventh bowl, exhibited a most fascinating display of chewed noodles at the Hyuuga as he grinned, then finished his bowl and called for another helping. Neji slowly finished his own bowl and settled for sucking gently on his chopsticks, staring thoughtfully at Naruto through opalescent eyes. Eventually the blonde looked up and returned Neji's stare with his own glittering azure counterparts.

"Is something stuck in my teeth?" He asked, head cocked jauntily to the side. The sarcastically innocent way he said it startled a laugh from the Hyuuga.

"I don't believe so."

"Then why are you staring at me like I have something stuck in my teeth?" Naruto retaliated. Neji raised one delicately amused eyebrow.

"You are the one who assumes I'm staring at you in such a manner." He countered. The blonde giggled.

"No really, why are you staring at me?" He prodded. The Hyuuga arched one chiseled, sloping shoulder.

"Is there a crime in watching you?" He asked. Naruto shot a glance at the ceiling in thought.

"Noooooo….it's just that you do it all the time." He widened cobalt eyes that sparkled mischievously.

"Am I really that alluring?" He said in a low, mockingly seductive tone. Neji, blatantly missing the innuendo by a distance of at least four miles, answered honestly.

"Yes. You're very good-looking, you're extremely humorous, and your attitude seems to be perpetually positive. I admit I do find interest in watching you and how you act." He said in a perfectly calm voice. Naruto's face could reduce an egg to charred remains.

"Uh…uhm…w-w-we-eeellll…thanks, I think….b-but really, you bestow upon me too much esteem…" He muttered, suddenly finding drastic interest in the scratched counter of the booth. Neji blinked.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked. Naruto turned an even deeper shade of red, his face promptly setting the air around it on fire.

"Wellll…unless you're…uhm…in love with the person and she knows it, you're generally…not supposed to…uhm…tell them how you feel about them." He mumbled, fingernails drawing intricate designs into the wood of the counter, his only answer a crimped mouth from the other.

"Why not? I find a very strong attraction towards you. That is not a negative comment, so why should I mask how I feel?" The Hyuuga probed. If blushes could light a fire, Naruto's countenance would have blown up the world.

"Erm…well…it's like a…a _society thing_, you know?" He blurted out. Neji leaned back, what looked like comprehension flickering in his snow-white eyes.

"I see…so though I seem to find you very fascinating, I am not to tell you?" The universe was officially toast as far as Naruto's face was concerned.

"Too late now, you've already told me…" He said in a barely comprehensible garble. Neji wouldn't say it wasn't hard to keep a straight face, Naruto looked so outrageously red.

"You're lucky to experience this with me…anyone else, particularly a girl, would either try to snag a piece of that ass or punch your lights out…" Naruto articulated, complexion and expression reverting back to normal. "Be thankful I'm so nice." Neji laughed and fluidly stood from the booth, laying a handful of bills on the counter.

"My treat." He said with a conspirational wink. Naruto grinned in surprise.

"Thanks. I'll pay you back later; right now, I have to get to class." He flipped open a piece of paper and studied it carefully.

"Let me see…oh, you have science next?" He said thoughtfully. Neji inserted slim fingers into his pocket, suddenly alarmed.

"Would you care to tell me how you came upon that information?" He asked. A lazy smirk dripped idly onto Naruto's features as he waved a small piece of paper.

"Does this look familiar?" He artfully spun a small square of paper between supple digits. A scandalized look appeared on Neji's elegantly carved visage.

"You have what is mine!" Laughing, Naruto, handed it back, his sultry smirk widening to the point where he looked more like a fox than a human.

"How did you manage…" Neji trailed off, at a loss for words. The blonde shrugged casually, inspecting one long, slender nail.

"Past experiences." His expression indicated closure of the matter, so Neji didn't press him. Naruto whirled past him with a flourish, and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

"You'll want to go that way to reach the science buildings. I've got Macroeconomics next, so I probably won't be seeing you soon." He grinned and waggled fingers at the Hyuuga.

"Cheerio, dahlin'." And with that, he sauntered off in the opposite direction.

Neji watched him go, a most unusual look of amusement on his face. Naruto was a indeed a great enigma, with his hauntingly captivating eyes that seemed to hint at some form of latent, desperate sadness. Two slender fingers touched his lips in thought as the Hyuuga turned away, the rest of his day spent lost in the mists of reveries.

_Memo_

_To: QPC_

_From: SRN_

_Subject: Target analysis_

_Sir,_

_Cause of subject's emotional error revealed to be past subject 791-543. Observations show no sign of instability; further interactions with present subject may produce unstable effects. Please advise._

_Memo_

_To: SRN_

_From: QPC_

_Subject: Re: Target analysis_

_Continue closed observations. Report any signs of instability in target or present subject._

It wasn't until later that night that it suddenly occurred to him to look in the mirror. Elegant brows came together as the thought crossed his mind, and Neji stood up, eyes zeroing in on the lavishly adorned mirror sitting on top of his dresser. The Hyuuga crossed the room and peered into the reflective surface, painstakingly studying every detail of himself. His hair was rather long, but he liked it that way…and then it hit him, the small detail that had been plaguing his mind all day. His eyes were completely white. Well no, not completely…they had a silvery-lavender tint, but he noticed that his pupils weren't visible. He supposed this wasn't common; people in his classes were constantly muttering about whether he was blind or not, and he had yet to meet someone other than Hiashi or Hizashi to claim the same eye color. Hizashi…that was it. He would ask the vivacious mentor himself about the matter at hand.

He stood in front of the embossed wooden door and rapped tartly on the frame; there was a brief scuffle, and a minute later Hizashi's form stood in the doorway. The older man smiled welcomingly at Neji's tall figure.

"Is there something you need?" He asked, then gestured Neji inside, closing the door with a sharp click. The Hyuuga crossed the room and sat at the invite.

"Why do my eyes lack color?" He inquired, interlacing his fingers upon his lap. Hizashi let out a brief, quiet sigh and indicated a hand at his own two orbs.

"As are mine?" At Neji's nod, Hizashi continued.

"My brother and I are part of a very prestigious clan known as the Hyuuga clan. The Hyuuga, as a result of a radical genetic mutation that happened generations ago, possess the ability of heightened eyesight, also known as the Byakugan. By channeling energy to our eyes, we are able to see up to fifty meters' distance, 365 degrees in either way. Now, ever since Hiashi has studied bio-engineering, he's been obsessed with creating the "perfect Hyuuga", a being with above-average traits. In the process of creating you, he deliberately altered your genetics to match that of a Hyuuga. So in essence, you are part of the Hyuuga clan as well." Neji nodded, absently soaking up all of the information laid in front of him. A thought occurred to the younger Hyuuga and he looked up.

"How do you access this so-called trait which I have?" He questioned. Hizashi smiled cryptically.

"Oh but you have done so already. Have you not ever felt a hot, liquid sensation in your eyes, especially after a certain amount of straining them?" Neji sat bold upright, stark realization chiseled on his finely-sculpted features.

"Then…then, _that's_ what I experienced? I just assumed there was something wrong with me." The comment sent Hizashi into a brief period of laughter.

"You are above average in all of your traits, Neji. One more shouldn't surprise you." He stood and clapped one warm hand on the younger Hyuuga's shoulder.

"It is getting late, and you have school tomorrow. Sleep now." With that, he ushered Neji out of the apartment and gently closed the door behind him, leaving the younger Hyuuga to sort out the heavy barrage of thoughts that had just crossed his mind.

* * *

So, what do you think? Oh, and by the way...THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! schnuggles you all 


	4. Once and Forever

Hallo again, minna-san! Sorry for the long wait...I had school stuff to do...and my net was down again...but enough with the excuses. Oh, and by the way, THANKS FOR ALL THE WUVWEE REVIEWS!

Chapter 3: Once and Forever

The Next Morning

"AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhlllllllmmmmmmm……g'mornin'….."

Neji tried his hardest to keep a straight face.

Naruto slouched into the general population of the school the next morning with what looked like the remains of a calculator stuck to his cheek. The blonde's normally vibrant blue eyes were dulled over with the remnants of sleep, with the whites a bit redder than the normal milky hue. His hair, making him look for the entire world like a canary had just died on his head, was piled frowzily on one side of his skull, which lolled on his neck like a loose hinge on a door. Naruto slouched down the stairs and ran straight into the Hyuuga himself, muttering incomprehensibly under his breath.

"MMmmmm….stay wherey'ar…mtired….huzbgh…" Neji obliged and stayed stationary as Naruto half-snored somewhere around the region of his stomach.

"I take it you were deprived of sleep last night?" A moan was heard from approximately where his navel would be located as Naruto let out a half-hearted response.

"Urrrmmm….damn kyoo-bee…kepmee frumstudying econ...econo…economics…but you ain't s'post tknow tha….thaaaaahhhh….."

Giving up all voluntary movement, Naruto fell in a rather pathetic heap at Neji's feet with a sigh and proceeded to snore gently on the sidewalk. The Hyuuga promptly felt his insides turn into a warm, fuzzy puddle of sludge-like substance, which didn't bode well for his own mental stability given that his fingers had suddenly started twitching with the sudden urge to….the sudden urge to think of it now, he'd suddenly developed a rather strong urge to do _something _to Naruto, though what it was, he did not know. After a while, Neji decided he hadn't the heart and woke Naruto from his peaceful slumber to patiently remind him that class was starting in exactly three minutes and forty-five seconds, that the distance from where they were to the destination took exactly six minutes and seventeen seconds to get to if they went at a fairly fast pace, so would he please get his sorry ass off of the sidewalk and start sprinting because precious seconds were being wasted?

"Snx-x-x….whuh?"

Neji calmly repeated his sentence.

"Mreeeehhhhh….WHAAAAAT!"

Naruto promptly shot to his feet and took off towards the science building with all the speed of a hummingbird on crack.

Neji could've sworn the campus grass had caught on fire, Naruto ran so hard. Slanting a quick glance at the sun, the Hyuuga sighed and broke into a light lope, arriving right in time for the bell.

Class

"All right, you pathetic bunch of sorry-assed losers, who can tell me the chemical formula for acetylsalicylic acid?"

The class visibly shrunk under the teacher's formidable stare. Neji's face was impassive as he evenly absorbed the aura the teacher was currently emanating; Naruto clasped his hands together and prayed with all his might that he wouldn't get called on.

"You, in the…blue, is it?" The blonde screwed his eyes shut and begged to whatever gods there were that there was someone else in the room wearing blue.

"You, in the blue with the blonde hair." One grimy paw rummaged around in his desk for a particularly sharp, pointy pencil just in case things got worse.

"THE ASSHOLE IN THE BLUE WITH THE BLONDE HAIR AND THE WHISKERS! ANSWER ME WHEN I CALL ON YOU!" Naruto let out a perfunctory sigh and managed a mumbled response.

"**_SAY IT LOUDER, IDIOT!_**" A chalkboard eraser bounced off his head with a clunk. The class tittered with murmured comments, and a few snickers as well as an "Uzumaki-baka got owned" were heard. Naruto sat up, deliberately ignoring the sneers, jeers, and pointed fingers.

"Yes, Anko-sensei?" The buxom brunette scowled heavily, raking a glower down the blonde before her.

"Board. Now. Formula for acetylsalicylic acid." Naruto exhibited a most fine impression of an immensely fake smile and rummaged around for his notes.

"All right all right, I'm coming." Neji shifted as Naruto walked down to the board and wrote down a set of formulas, turning around to face the teacher.

"Done." Contrary to his expectations, Anko's frown only deepened, chocolate eyes positively radiating bloody fratricide.

"Next time, Uzumaki, don't have Hyuuga-kun write it for you beforehand, do I make myself clear?" The class let out a nervous chorus of laughter and Neji shifted his stare down to the table in response. Naruto muttered a "yesm'" and returned to his desk.

After Class

Naruto's already dreadful morning took a decidedly downward tailspin as a highly nasal voice cut through the scatters of light conversation that filled the air with all the grace of a chainsaw through a three-foot-thick metal wall.

"Wow, Uzumaki, we didn't know you were _that_ pathetic. Has Neji-kun been writing your tests as well? It figures…he probably has to spell your name for you too."

Naruto whirled around to find a slim blonde girl staring him down with a malicious smirk pasted on her overdone face. Half a dozen other girls backed her up, each with a delicious smile on her face in anticipation of what was to come.

"What the hell do you want, Ino?" The blonde girl shrugged one slim, dusky shoulder.

"I'm just wondering why Neji-kun would want to spend his precious time around someone like you." She mocked derisively. With a fierce, quiet determination, Naruto told the girl where to go, when, and in what condition, earning a silken smirk as his response. Ino waggled a contemptuous finger in Naruto's face.

"Tsk tsk, mind your language now. Your mother wouldn't like it if she heard you say such rude things to a lady…oh, but I forgot. _You have no mother._" Ino spat the last comment out with a massive amount of scorn.

It literally tore Neji's heart into a million tiny shards of glass to see the utter pain in Naruto's normally dazzling blue eyes. The sardonic laughter coming from the girls seemed to magnify and surround the blonde, his back ramrod stiff, his shoulders hunched inwards as if to protect himself from the verbal onslaught. Nails scrabbled at his books as Naruto clutched his belongings to his chest, jaw rigid and set against his teeth. The Hyuuga watched helpless as Naruto shook like a wind-tossed leaf as the girls hurled taunt after taunt, each one visibly cutting deeper into the blonde's soul. Hot, angry tears fell to the ground as Naruto bit hard into his lip to keep from losing his composure.

Abruptly something snapped inside of the Hyuuga. It was as if the energy that dripped like wax through his veins suddenly melted and flowed thrice faster through his body. Neji slowly rotated to face the laughing girls before him, eyes blazing with sheer fury and disdain. He looked Ino dead in the eye and ripped her body apart with his stare, spilling blood and slicing through entrails, sinew, bone, marrow, cell, flaying her alive, seizing every single blood cell he could find and scattering its remains to the wind. The warmth earlier lingering in the air suddenly packed its bags and left on a permanent vacation; Neji's aura leaked fiery ice and shrapnel as he stood tall in all his livid glory, impossibly long, alabaster fingers convulsing with the urge to kill. The blonde wisp of a girl shrunk back and whimpered at the frigid, wintry stare. Each word Neji spoke seemed to bring with it carnage and bloodshed.

"_You. Are. Not. To. Speak. To. Him. In. That. Manner. Again_." Ino nodded rapidly and retreated even further; the girls around her clung to their leader.

"Ne-Neji-kun…"

"_Do I make myself clear?_" Ino cowered even further.

"Y-yes…Neji-kun." The Hyuuga's mouth twisted in a snarl.

"_Apologize."_ The blonde girl gaped at the comment.

"Wha…what?" The banshee-storm swirling around the Hyuuga magnified by a factor of four.

"_I said: apologize."_ He was dimly aware of Naruto tugging on his shirt sleeve rambling about how it was going to be okay, but at the point he was now, Neji didn't care much about anything except for the victim in front of him. After a furtive glance at her terrified companions, Ino reluctantly glanced at Naruto.

"I'm…sorry…Naruto." In degrees the blizzard diminished.

"Good." The Hyuuga whirled about, strands of midnight silk falling around his sloping shoulders.

"Naruto. Let's go." Without a backward glance, Neji stalked away, Naruto in tow, neither of them catching the malevolent glitter in Ino's icy eyes.

Later that Night

He slept, bathed in the dim glow of his table lamp, sprawled messily across papers strewn helter-skelter across the width of his desk. The clock on the table read 12:48 a.m; the sheets of his bed were turned over and rumpled, looking for all the world like a person was sleeping in it. Naruto emanated a fuzzy sort of hum from the back of his throat as he slumbered at his desk, slouched haphazardly over a sheaf of papers which supported his head.

Gem-chips of eyes opened noiselessly and the blonde spun around, one hand groping silently for a long, thin, black-handled knife in the drawer of his desk. Still maintaining the sound of snoring in the back of his throat for extra advantage, he stood fluidly and padded silently to the doorway of his room where he pressed himself like a bed slat against the frame of the door, every muscle strung taught with anticipation. One hand cupped his mouth and propelled the sound of snoring towards the bed where it bounced off and seemed to genuinely convince whatever intruder there was that someone was indeed sleeping in the bed.

As if on cue, a tall, burly figure crept silently into the room. Not noticing the blonde's lithe frame pressed up against the doorframe, the man slowly crept over to the bed and seemed to fumble in his clothing. The glimmer of light from the table lamp ricocheted off of a shiny slice of metal as the man gripped the knife, raised both hands high, and plunged it point-blank into the mess of pillows and sheets. Naruto chirped a ventriloquized yelp that seemed to come from the mass of sheets, then smiled triumphantly as red liquid stained the blankets. The man stepped back, satisfied, then turned to go.

Every coil of muscle, sinew, ligament, tendon, and nerve exploded as Naruto snapped out at the man in midair, silver blade gyrating dangerously towards his target. He barely caught the look of registered surprise on the other when his knife slid cleanly through the middle of the man's shoulder blades. The blonde gritted his teeth and executed a sharp, downward slice that ripped muscle to pieces, caught on bone, and went through to catch on rib. With a flick of his wrist, Naruto pulled out the knife, its mercury blade dripping with wet, red rubies to puddle on the ground in a murky pool of scarlet.

The man stood stunned as liquid spurted from his wound. Mild surprise flashed in his eyes as he slowly absorbed the full extent to which he had been wounded. Naruto watched as the horror emerged in his opponent's eyes, and the man promptly sank to the ground and let out an animalistic howl that reverberated throughout the whole entire room. Still yelling with pain, he slumped to the ground like a sack of wet cement, writing with agony as he attempted to stave the bleeding.

Naruto whipped around and drew a bloody necklace around the man behind him, deftly dodging a quick blow, and plunged headlong into the throng of thugs that had just entered the tiny room, a golden whirlwind shining brightly in the darkness. Slashing, sliding, Naruto executed his full power as he fought, but eventually the thugs proved to be too much and overcame the blonde, tying him to the bed with much of a scuffle. Sapphire eyes glittered with sheer venom as the blonde stared defiantly at his triumphant enemies.

"What have I done to make you trespass upon my property and attack me?" He spat violently. One of the men smiled, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"You toyed with my girlfriend, bastard. Apparently she said you were taking advantage of her in several different situations." He snarled sneeringly. Naruto's cornflower eyes opened wide.

_Ino…_

"I suppose it would be futile to argue with you." He spat sardonically, then coughed, spewing blood onto the pillows, his brilliant azure eyes clouded over with hatred.

"Nobody messes with _my_ girl, got that, _demon child?_" The man snarled. The others around the bed chuckled as Naruto momentarily twisted on the bed. Slowly a small smirk dripped like oil onto the blonde's countenance.

"Thanks for the advice, I'll take it seriously next time."

To everyone's surprise, a momentary flash of brilliant scarlet cleaved the air as Naruto gave a mighty buck, deftly snapping the ropes like wet plaster, his knife flashing in his hand. Another leap, and the blonde was on the window sill, standing triumphantly on the ledge. The masked man that had spoken before bellowed in agony, clutching a blood-oozing gash on his forehead; blood dripped from Naruto's knife point. The others gaped at the sheer speed and power the blonde possessed. Still wearing the idle smirk, Naruto lazily tossed something in the middle of the room, then turned to face his shell-shocked opponents, the smirk widening into a positively feral grin.

"So long, fuckers!"

He flipped them a highly courteous hand gesture, then leapt out the window. Seconds later, the room exploded with a deafening bang that rocked the whole building, and gas began to steam out of the window. Faint yells were heard from the inside, and people began to scream in other parts of the apartment. With a last look at the steaming apartment complex, Naruto took off at a heavy, labored run towards the urban region of the city.

For what seemed like an eternity the blonde wandered further and further, no set destination in mind. Seeking shelter in alleyways or under overhangings, Naruto closed his eyes as he felt the first signs of rain on his skin, smiling gently as the heavens opened up and showered water over his pitiful form. Pink fluid ran in torrents to the ground as the rain cleansed his many wounds; Naruto stood for long moments with his face uplifted to the universe, silently begging for release as the divine liquid adorned him with transparent pearls that entwined themselves in his hair and flowed down his face in rivulets of fluid.

A thought occurred to him and he turned, walking slowly along the rain-slicked streets, a set destination in his mind. At long last, he came to a tall, magnificent building, and there he stood, wracking his brain for a certain scrap of memory. Sneaking past the half-slumbering receptionist at the desk, Naruto pressed the elevator button for level 17, then slumped against the walls of the transport. An ironic smile crossed his face as he surveyed his surroundings. It was almost laughable that he, a mere street rat without a place to stay, was riding in an elevator of _the_ Semaruku apartment complex. Most normal people never even got a chance to enter the complex; but then again, he thought to himself, he wasn't really a normal person. Not quite. Not quite.

* * *

For those of you waiting for other characters to come in, I might put them in, and then again I might not, so you'll have to wait and see. Further pairings might come too, but right now I'm just focusing on getting the story off to a good start. 


	5. The Demon Within Him

Hey. I'm leaving for Piano Camp (WOOOT!) for three weeks starting on Saturday, so this story will be on hiatus until then...but I promise I'll post when I get back, ne?

Chapter 5: The Demon Within Him

He lay there, bathed in the soft, transcendent glow of the moon, opalescent eyes glaring intensely into the ceiling. Neji exhaled irritably as he shifted on the bed, causing even more midnight locks to spill like a waterfall over his marvelously chiseled chest and the edge of the mattress. Naruto…the look on his face…when the blonde bitch spoke to him that way…it almost seemed like he was struggling with himself, to keep something dark and fatally dangerous locked up inside. It was almost as if…as if…as if he was willing himself not to give in, so much that he almost fainted with the sheer exertion.

A heavy knock resonated throughout the room, followed by an oddly hollow thud. Every nerve suddenly jangled with anticipation as Neji hastily stood from the bed, the milk-white sheets sliding like silk from his body. He crossed the room in four long strides and pressed himself against the door, listening to the heavy breathing going on the other side. After a moment's pause, Neji decided to go with his instincts and opened the door with a great deal of difficulty.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight before his eyes. Naruto hung from the doorknob like a limp puppet, blood streaking his face and streaming from his rain-slicked body. His clothes were tattered and ripped in various places, and bruises sprouted like weeds along his arms, face, and exposed torso. It wasn't his beaten condition that struck such sheer horror into the Hyuuga; no, it was his eyes, and the expression of sheer apathy on the blonde's countenance that thrice froze Neji's soul and shattered it to splinters. His eyes were black against the paleness of his face, both spark and flint and they glittered with deadness. Blood ran from his mouth as if he were just been eating strawberries, and the half-dozen gashes that bedizened his forehead seemed to contrast with the three whiskers on each of his cheeks, making them black against the stark whiteness of his face. One corner of his mouth twitched up into what looked like a sick parody of a smile.

"Déjà vu, no?"

He coughed, spattering the carpet with splotches of red, and let go of the doorknob entirely, sinking to the ground. For the second time in his life, Neji gathered up the blonde, cradling him gently to his chest as he bore the light body to the bed. Sending a silent apology to Naruto, the Hyuuga tenderly peeled off what was left of the tattered clothing and grabbed the nearest sheet, gently sponging off the drying blood from Naruto's body. Neji set his jaw, a surge of rage shooting into his veins. The bastards…whoever had harmed Naruto would have a long, intensive, and extremely painful talk with the Hyuuga; he would make sure of that.

_Memo_

_To: QPC_

_From: SRN_

_Subject: Loyalty_

_Sir,_

_Observations show subject has developed great attachment to target. Please advise._

_Memo_

_To: SRN_

_From: QPC_

_Subject: Re: Loyalty_

_Precautions have been taken. Will release antidote within twenty-four hours._

It wasn't until a few hours later that Naruto awoke from his comatose state. Blue eyes cracked open, still hazed over with the fog of sleep. Neji watched sympathetically as Naruto tentatively explored his body, fingers running over the strips of gauze and cotton that covered his wounds. He slanted a flicker of a smile at the Hyuuga and lay back down, closing his eyes, his mouth crimped in a cynical smirk.

"Don't look so worried, Neji, they'll all heal by tomorrow."

Neji nodded and settled for shredding a piece of gauze with troubled fingers. A long moment of silence passed. Naruto's countenance was impassive; Neji worked his jaw many a moment, as if he were trying to find the right words to say. Naruto opened a sapphire orb and stared thoughtfully at the Hyuuga, a weak smile on his face.

"You look positively distressed, Hyuuga. I'll live, don't worry." He quipped lightly. Neji looked up, delicately picking his next words with the greatest care.

"I don't know how to say this politely…but…"

"You want to know why I'm always in a half-dead state? And why all the people at school—or anywhere else for that matter—look at me as if I'm a despicable creature worthy of the highest loathing?" He whispered contemptuously, laughing bitterly at Neji's startled outcry of surprise.

"I knew you were going to ask. It's not that much of a secret, anyway. Well it is, technically, but you're fairly new here, so you probably don't want to know about it. I don't want you soiling yourself with my presence." He said acrimoniously with a harsh bark of a laugh.

"I do not consider myself soiled for being around you. Besides, I have been in your presence for a fairly long time now." Neji said in light argument. Naruto looked at him for a long time, his expression mildly thoughtful. After a long moment he sighed, resentful.

"Very well, I shall tell you…but there are some things that must be kept a secret, so you won't hear the whole truth." At Neji's murmur of agreement, Naruto swept his gaze to the ceiling, wincing a bit as his wounds protested.

"Well, it was a long time ago…"

_He was dead. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, writhing feebly in pain as they stood triumphantly over him, knives in their hands, baleful snarls that contorted their faces into sick smirks that dripped with evil. They bent over him again and raked their knives into his skin; he screamed long and loud in agony as the gaping wounds once again appeared._

"_Hey look, it's doing it again." _

"_No matter how much we cut into him, his wounds always heal."_

"_All the better to keep on doing it, yes? Damn demon-bastard…you get what you deserve!"_

_The blades rose and fell, rose and fell. The small boy screamed again, a harsh, inhuman shriek that cut through the night, and suddenly a great, awesome power engulfed his whole body, throwing back the assaulters. They staggered backwards, eyes widened in horror as the boy convulsed, his body wracked with spasmodic jerks. The power grew and grew, the color of pure, fresh blood, then reared and plunged itself into the attackers as if it had a mind of its own. As one they were disintegrated, nothing left of them save for sprays of blood on the walls and the ground._

Naruto looked on in sympathy as the shock, confusion, and emotion played over Neji's face. The blonde looked down at his own hands resting gently on the blankets, smiling bitterly.

"That's all I can tell you; the rest is a secret. All I will say now is that I have something different about me. You can't see it from the outside, but it's there. It's in me. And because of that difference, the people of the city hate me for it." He murmured softly.

Naruto looked as if his eyes had been painted onto his face, merely images with no life as he told his tale. Neji looked on, his heart constricting painfully as the blonde came to a close. After staring thoughtfully at his hands, the blonde looked up with a wan smile.

"I learned to get used to it after a while." He said softly, his voice fragile as glass. Neji exhaled in shock.

"Why did it hurt you so much if your wounds kept on healing?" He inquired. The gossamer-fine tension in the air shifted tentatively.

"Just because my wounds heal doesn't mean I can't feel the pain." Naruto responded in a silk-thin pain-encrusted voice. A corner of his mouth curved up in a wry, bitter smile.

"I don't even have the scars to show for it." A harsh, soft laugh emanated from the blonde.

"I think I'll sleep now…wounds heal much faster if one gets rest." He lay back down among the sheets and lowered his eyes to half-mast, then feebly gestured to the Hyuuga.

"Sorry if I'm taking…up your…bed…." And with that, he slipped off the edge of the world.

"_How goes the procedure, sir?"_

"_Immaculately well. We still need to balance and correlate the chemical makeup though. The antidote must be precisely compatible with the subject."_

"_Yes sir."_

_At the pull of a lever, the machine began to whir. A fine white mist rose from the top of the giant test tube and seemed to writhe with spastic convulsions, finally expelling a large lump of flesh-colored object. Again the green fluid was drained, and again the object came to rest at the bottom of the tank. At another sequence of buttons pressed, the glass of the tube retracted, showing a comatose object raised on a platform adorned with several wires. Another push of buttons sent currencies whirling down the wires, and slowly the figure on the rostrum opened its eyes. It rose, stood unsteadily on two slender feet, then drew itself up to its full height._

"_I am alive."_

_Hiashi's mouth curved into a deep smile filled with sardonic mirth. The figure before him looked him dead in the eye, then bowed deeply to show its loyalty._

"_I am to do as you command, Hiashi-sama." The older Hyuuga's smile deepened even more, but it did naught to lessen the ice in his pale eyes._

"_Go. Seek out your target and work your charms. I shall be monitoring closely."_

_The girl sank yet again into a bow and exited the room._

His first thought was a thought of great disgust towards himself for having fallen off the bed in the middle of the night. He most certainly had a great deal of control over his body when he was unconscious, thank you very much…and then it suddenly came back to him. The memories of last night…and who was currently sleeping in his bed. Neji arose from the mattress on the floor and sat up, flicking a brief, sweeping gaze over the sleeping form of Naruto. Pearl eyes softened considerably as he looked upon the smooth, creamy skin of the blonde…

A spark tore across his mind and Neji reeled backwards with the sheer realization of what he'd just witnessed. Each and every single wound on Naruto's body was completely gone. There wasn't a mar on the blonde's body; quite the contrary, Naruto looked even healthier than normal, his pale skin unblemished. The sunlight streamed down from the window beside him and entangled itself in his wheat-bronze hair, highlighting every single heaven-spun strand of silken gold and making other locks seem blazing white. It frosted his long, fair lashes and gilded his slender eyebrows, making him look almost transcendent as he lay sleeping on the bed. Neji felt his stomach braid itself around his heart, constricting with an almost pleasurable pain.

"Hey."

Neji slanted a glance over at Naruto's form. The blonde had both eyes open and was cutting a brazen grin at the Hyuuga, the side of his mouth crooked up in a demoralizing smirk.

"You awake?" He murmured. Neji flashed him an evanescent smile and sat up from the mattress, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"I do believe so—ouch."

He winced as his head was pulled backwards by an unknown force. Upon further observation, Neji discovered, to his dismay, that his hair was impossibly snarled around the legs of the night-table behind him, and that even more hair had spilled across the carpet, hopelessly tangled in webs of black silk. The Hyuuga let out an exasperated exhale, elegant brows knotted in frustration as he began to reel in his hair. Why Hiashi had decided to give him such ridiculously long hair was beyond any valid reason.

A funny sort of gurgling noise that sounded like a cross between a choke and a retch came from above him; Neji looked up to identify the source, only to find Naruto with both fists stuffed in his mouth, his body shaking hysterically. The blonde shot him one watery-eyed glance before he dissolved into paroxysms of giggles on the bed, his body wracked through with hopeless mirth. Resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn't stop laughing for a very long time, Naruto lay hooting hysterically on the bed, tears of mirth running like rivers down his eyes.

"Oh…oh my….oh my _gawd_, you should have SEEN your own FACE!"

He lay down again, his laughs coming in short bursts, a long period of laughter coming every once in a while. Neji shot him a steel-cut glare, but eventually thawed and laughed along with him, inwardly smiting himself for melting so easily. In due course, the duo lapsed into companionable silence, secret smiles on each of their faces. Eventually Naruto slid off the bed and extracted himself from the sheets, kneeling fluidly next to the Hyuuga.

"Here, let me help with that…"

He immediately set out on the task of unsnarling the strands caught around the legs of the night-table; Neji worked on the hair that was splayed on the carpet, slender fingers combing through the knots. He felt other strands of his tresses being gently manipulated and turned around to find Naruto patiently picking at his hair with deft nails. To his surprise, the blonde had already extracted his locks from the prison of the table legs, and was now calmly smoothing out the knots from the ebony silk. Neji exhaled slowly, a breath of utter awe. He hadn't even felt Naruto working at his hair, the blonde was so tender. His touch was gossamer, his fingers like glass…it was almost with a maternal touch that Naruto unknotted his hair. It produced a rather soporific effect on the Hyuuga; he lowered his eyes to half-mast and leaned into the blonde's caress, his own portion of hair momentarily forgotten.

So engrossed were the two in Neji's long tresses that they failed to notice the soft rapping upon the apartment door. The handle turned, and Hizashi fluidly slid his sturdy frame through the door, closing it was a sharp snap. Naruto's head snapped up and he recoiled slightly from Neji's hair; Neji sent a look of mild surprise at Hizashi's shocked countenance. The older man's pale gaze swept over the scene in the middle of the room, rapidly absorbing the information.

"Do forgive me. I seem to have…interrupted something, yes?" He said calmly.

Neji shook his head; Hizashi's gaze flickered briefly over Naruto, and Neji could have sworn something akin to recognition and resentment had flashed in the older Hyuuga's eyes. He brushed it from his thoughts, reassured by the assumption that Hizashi had never met Naruto and was only looking at him that way due to the fact that the blonde was half-naked and sprawled across the sheets of the bed. It was a somewhat suggestive position that Naruto was in, and Neji was more than happy to explain the true nature of the extra occupant in the room, wisely omitting the story of Naruto's wounds and the late-night talk the two had together. Hizashi only nodded, his expression unreadable.

"Well, you'd best hurry up. School starts quite soon." He let himself out, quietly closing the door behind him.

Was it his imagination, or was Naruto suddenly looking a bit tense? The blonde's jaw was rigid and his eyes glittered with a mystifying emotion that, despite being a great anomaly, was undoubtedly negative.

"Are you all right?" The look abruptly drained from Naruto's eyes, a little too quickly, and the blonde swallowed, gracing Neji with a faintly ersatz smile.

"I'm fine. Really." He stood and padded softly over to the adjoining kitchen.

"I'll fix breakfast. You'd better get dressed, Neji." With a wink, Naruto disappeared into the adjacent room, and sounds of bustling filled the silence. Neji let his gaze linger in the blonde's general direction a while longer before he crossed to the bathroom.

He came out a while later to find a most tantalizing smell assailing his nostrils. Neji inhaled the heady scent and followed it to the kitchen where, to his great surprise, he found Naruto stirring several pans, occasionally flipping food onto two set plates. That being done, the blonde wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow and expertly flung an overflowing plate at the Hyuuga with a flick of his wrist, who caught it and barely managed not to slop the food upon it down the whole front of his shirt. Neji shot Naruto a highly chagrined look for daring to attempt such a dangerous thing; Naruto only bared his teeth at him in a devastating grin, then started to eat his own helping.

The tang of spice that flavored Neji's meal exploded on his tongue in little bursts of hot; Naruto had artfully arranged everything in a pleasantly tasty display. Having finished his own portion, Naruto swept his chopsticks across Neji's plate, snagging a bit of takoyaki. Neji smiled briefly as the blonde licked at his chopsticks, cleaning every last bit of flavor; Naruto really was adorable at some moments in his life, and Neji was more than happy to witness most of said moments.

"You're too slow, Neji…we have to go." Naruto leaned over and swiped nearly half of the Hyuuga's portion in one clean sweep, deftly shoving the contents down his throat.

Then again…the Hyuuga sighed and handed over the rest of the food with a resigned breath. Naruto squealed happily and devoured the contents, giggling playfully.

"Come, I'll take us to school." Blue eyes widened at Neji's comment.

"Really? Do you have a car?" He asked innocently. The Hyuuga closed alabaster fingers around Naruto's wrist in response and gently dragged him down to the garage.

"You do have a car!" Naruto squealed in ecstasy. Neji subtlety rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I do have a car. Now if we don't hurry, Iruka-sensei will have your head." He said in an overly patient voice. Naruto poked out his chin.

"Why only ME?"

"Because I, unlike you, am not a loud, obnoxious, overly mischievous, obscene little troublemaker, and I, unlike you, also have the highest grade in the class, which means I, unlike you, will be getting off scot-free while you, unlike me, will take the blame for making yourself—and myself as well—late to class." Neji casually explained. Naruto blinked.

"Whuh?"

Neji repeated his sentence.

"Yeah, but you'll vouch for me, right?" Naruto displayed a highly destructive look of pure sugar at the Hyuuga, who wavered slightly.

"Well…"

"Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzeeee?" Naruto stuck out a lower lip and pouted. Naruto pouting would be enough to move all the water out of the world…except Neji had no intention of moving water anywhere.

"No."

"WAAAAAAAAAIIIIII?"

"Because it is so much more amusing to see you getting the full effect of Iruka-sensei's wrath." He was rewarded with a ribful of elbow. Naruto looked scandalized.

"Some friend you are." He muttered. Neji laughed, then opened the door, shoved Naruto in the passenger seat, and got in himself.

"We're late as it is already." With that, the black sedan drove out into the world, leaving naught but dust behind it.

* * *

Until next time, nya? 3 Silver 


	6. What Lurks Inside

Hello minna-san! I just discovered they have computers with internet at my camp, so I'll post from here, yes?

Chapter six: What Lurks Within

Monokuromu University

"NAH-RUE-TOE, WHERE IN THE SEVEN POINT FIVE HELLS HAVE YOU BEEN!"

Another day, another lecture. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Mou, Irukaaa—"

"DON'T YOU 'MOU IRUKA' ME! THIS MAKES IT THE FIFTH TIME YOU'VE BEEN LATE THIS WEEK!" Spittle flew from the brunette's mouth and spattered Naruto with flecks of saliva. The blonde hastily drew a sleeve across his face.

"Hey, it isn't _my_ fault that—"

"OF COURSE IT'S YOUR FAULT! HOW ELSE WOULD YOU EXPLAIN YOUR PREPOSTEROUS BEHAVIOR!" The class snickered in unison, earning a glower from the blonde.

"But—"

"I TAKE IT YOU ACTUALLY ENJOY DETENTION, YOUNG MAN! FIVE HOURS TODAY, AND YOU'LL BE CLEANING OUT ALL THE BATHROOMS IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSITY WITH A TOOTHBRUSH!" At this, the whole class burst out laughing.

Neji felt a jagged pain as Naruto brought a heel down sharply on his toe.

"Ouch-vay or-fay ee-may, urry-hay!" He hissed. Neji blinked.

"What?" Naruto shot a quick, furtive glance at the raving teacher, leaned back, and shot out the words from between closed lips.

"Vouchformehurry!" Naruto positively danced on his toes.

It flashed across Neji's mind with the speed of a bullet cutting through wet paper.

"AND ANOTHER THING—"

"Wait, Iruka-sensei." The teacher stopped in shock as Neji fluidly stepped forward, his lean, lithe body sinking into a respectful dip. The Hyuuga bowed deeply, gracing the frazzled Iruka with a deeply intense look through long, dark lashes.

"Please forgive him. He was late because of me; I kept him in bed for a moment too long." He murmured in a low, husky tone.

Iruka's face shot straight to an exceptionally peculiar shade of red and he staggered back, a cross between an outraged yelp and a stunned gurgle emitting from his throat. The class promptly exploded into a number of different reactions, ranging from utter shock to stunned silence to hysterical laughter. After a long moment of chaos and utter pandemonium, Iruka rehinged his jaw, flapped a feeble hand at the two figures before him, and bellowed at the class to sit down and shut up.

"Ahem…anyhow…Naruto, since Hyuuga-kun has covered your lateness…this will not count against you…however, Hyuuga-kun will have to take responsibility for the lateness. Neji, you will receive one hour of detention after class, polishing trophies in room 678-BC." At this, the class broke out in raged protest.

"Mou, sensei, you should at least give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Yeah, he might have had a good reason."

"Besides, the traffic was horribly bad today, and most of us showed up late." Iruka reeled backwards with the sudden verbal onslaught, then gave in entirely.

"Very well, I'll cut it to a half-hour of detention then." Seemingly satisfied, the class settled down, talking in a buzz of hushed whispers.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, then turned and flashed Neji a grateful smile.

"Sorry about that, I didn't know he'd give detention to you of all people." Neji waved off the apology.

"It is not a major concern. I have nothing to do after school anyway." At this, Naruto brightened.

"Hey, maybe I can help you!" Neji looked over at the blonde, a brief smile flicking over his face.

"And why, of all people, would you wish to do that? You spend enough of your time in detention as it is." Naruto flashed him a grin that made his heart drop to his feet.

"Hey, we're friends. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." He giggled at the expected crimp in Neji's mouth.

"You have the oddest expressions, Naruto." The blonde looked smug.

"I know. That's what I'm famous for, dahlin'." He pressed a hand to his chest and cocked his head to the side, startling a laugh out of the Hyuuga. Just then a chalkboard eraser bounced off the side of his head and he turned to see a pair of livid brown eyes glaring holes into his head.

"NARUTO! YOU WILL BE JOINING NEJI TODAY IN DETENTION!" To Iruka's great surprise, both Neji and Naruto dissolved into silent, restrained laughter.

"I told you so, didn't I?" The blonde laughed, jabbing a quick elbow into Neji's side. The Hyuuga let out a chuckle.

"Very well, very well, I concede…"

Later

A soothing summer breeze combed through the trees, ruffling wheat-bronze locks. For a brief moment, Naruto stood still, head uplifted to the azure heavens as he relished the cool, calm wind on his face. The moment passed and Naruto opened one misty-eyed orb, staring at Neji with a succulently nostalgic expression on his countenance. Neji smiled in return, then resumed walking towards his next class, stopping only to bid goodbye to Naruto. The blonde yelled back a farewell, then skipped off in the opposite direction.

So engrossed in his thoughts was he that Neji utterly failed to notice his surroundings and walked headlong into a stray passerby.

"Owww…."

The Hyuuga recoiled, then bent down to retrieve the considerable amount of pencils, books, and other paraphernalia that had fallen from the girl's arms. Neatly arranging them in an easily portable fashion, Neji straightened and helped the girl up. She staggered and briefly leaned on his arm, then straightened, flashing him a breezy, frazzled smile.

"I'm so sorry…" Neji waved off the apology.

"No no, I wasn't watching where I was going." He offered in return, then handed his books back to the girl. She thanked him meekly, then extended one slender hand in his general direction, nut-brown eyes sparkling.

"I'm Tenten…what's your name?" Neji grasped the hand briefly.

"I am Hyuuga Neji. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said, then turned to leave, only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his arm. Tenten smiled up at him through heavy lashes.

"What class do you have next?" She asked cheerfully.

"Government. It's a bore, really…" He intoned. Tenten giggled, touching a finger to her lips.

"Do you? So do I. Will you walk with me?" She asked. Personally the Hyuuga thought it was rather bold of her to say so, but he brushed it off and obliged, finding nothing wrong with having a companion.

She was a readily joyful creature, was Tenten. Her walk was nicely accented with a light bounce, and she seemed to have a perpetual smile upon her face. A light song wafted out of her throat as she walked, humming tunelessly on her way to class. Neji felt a strange connection to the girl, almost as if he'd known her a long, long time ago. He highly suspected that Tenten knew it as well, for what else could have prompted her to act in such an open manner towards him? Then again, he did act somewhat similar towards Naruto, that time in the ramen store…

"Oh, we're here!"

The slim brunette slid open the door to the classroom and walked inside, gesturing Neji to sit down beside her. She piled her books on the floor and plunked elbows down on the table, still humming the meaningless melody. She caught the Hyuuga watching him and looked him dead in the eye, smiling playfully; Neji suddenly felt viscera knotting into a most complicated series of twists and turns. Tenten had beautiful brown eyes that were complimented by her bangs and twin-bun hairstyle, and her smile only served to flatter her oval face. Neji felt another jolt in the general region of his entrails, and it suddenly became extremely difficult to breathe.

"Ready to learn about POLITICS, MY LOVELY CLASS OF EVERLASTING YOUTH!" The bushy-browed bowl-capped green-clad large-nosed teacher breezed into the classroom and struck a gallant pose in his polyester suit. The class groaned in unison and began their studies. Neji had to hand it to Gai-sensei though….no one but no one _ever_ fell asleep in his class.

_Memo_

_To: QPC_

_From: SRN_

_Subject: Antidote released_

_Sir,_

_The antidote has located the subject. Within x months will release drug into subject._

_Memo_

_To: SRN_

_From: QPC_

_Subject: Re: Antidote released_

_Precautions indicate that drug will be released in three months._

He lay with his head in his hands, mentally cursing the stubborn clock for being so goddamned _precise_. The seconds went by far too slowly, and it seemed like they were going even slower due to the fact that class would be ending in five minutes. Naruto groaned and pressed his nose against his notebook, positively shredding the edge of the desk in anticipation. It seemed like an eternity before the bell decided to take pity on the poor blonde, sending Naruto blasting from his seat and through the classroom door like as if his heels were on fire. He tore across half the university in less than a second, making a beeline towards a sheet of flowing, ebony mane floating in the distance.

Neji felt the impact before he saw it, and the next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the ground, his books and various papers were scattered at least three meters away, and Naruto was currently perched atop his stomach, apologizing profusely for mowing him down.

"Ah-h-h, I'm so sorry Neji…" He mumbled sheepishly, one hand rubbing the back of his head. Neji just lay there, any past thoughts of survival abruptly dissipating.

"Yes…now if you don't mind, I do find the cement rather cold." He said in a perfectly calm voice. Naruto sent a blazingly carefree grin towards his way and stood, pulling the Hyuuga up.

An alien giggle cut through the silence and Naruto turned to witness a fairly pretty brunette laughing gaily at the scene. He slanted a bewildered glance at the Hyuuga beside him; Neji apparently seemed to know who she was, for he was smiling as well. Naruto shot a look back and forth between the two, his grin diminishing in intervals.

"Neji, who's this?" At this, the Hyuuga looked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Naruto, this is Tenten. I ran into her on my way to Government, and we had class together." He said lightly. Naruto smiled and extended a hand, grasping Tenten's outstretched counterpart.

"Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Tenten responded.

Naruto winced slightly; was it his imagination, or was Tenten grasping his hand a little too tightly? Perhaps it was just her strong grip…but then again, he could have sworn to whatever gods existed that a brief flash of cold animosity had just flashed through her chocolate eyes. A sibilant, sinister trickle of ice suddenly curled around his heart and he stepped back slightly, suddenly wary of the new girl. And the way she was looking at him…though she smiled, her eyes remained like steel, cutting into him, flaying him alive, raping his soul through and through.

_Are you there, Naruto? Are you there? I know you are…come, let me kill you…let me tear you apart and feast on your soul…_

"…aruto?"

_He was being drained, his blood sucked out of him like dirt into a vacuum…a deadly void of sheer and utter night…_

"Naruto?"

The blonde snapped out of his trance and looked up, only to find that Neji was staring directly into his eyes, a worried gleam in his opalescent orbs and a frown marring his exquisite visage.

"Are you alright?" He probed apprehensively. The smile that immediately clung to Naruto's face was exceedingly phony in every possible way.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it…must be the heat…it is rather warm….must be me…" The blonde swatted dismissively at his head graced the puzzled Hyuuga with another fraudulent grin.

"Hey, why don't we go out to eat to clear your head? It might help…" Tenten chirped, bobbing on the balls of her feet.

"That sounds wonderful, Tenten. Naruto?" Neji said.

"Uhm…sure, that would be…fine…"

Was it his imagination, or was something seriously wrong with Naruto? He didn't appear the least wounded in any physical way, but then again, mental problems didn't exactly have visible symptoms…and then Neji remembered the critically crucial genetic mutation he'd been graced with. Turning slightly so that his hair fell over his eyes, Neji activated the Byakugan and peered directly at Naruto, searching for any disturbance that might be the source of the blonde's severe aberrant behavior.

The vision hit him dead in the eye and nearly cost him his balance. Neji choked back a gasp of horror as he witnessed the perpetual chaos that roiled spastically inside the blonde's slim frame. Though Naruto had calmed down and was now acting entirely normal, the turmoil of spasmodic energy still writhed around the blonde's innards like some sort of maladjusted electricity. For some reason, Neji found it highly unwise to question the blonde about the current state of his viscera, but nevertheless retained the information for further reference.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" The Hyuuga hastily deactivated his bloodline and brushed the hair out of his eyes, offering an innocent smile.

"I was merely lost in thought…"

"Are we going to lunch or not? The restaurants will have been filled by now, guys." Tenten cut in from Neji's right.

The Hyuuga dazedly turned and followed Tenten off campus, Naruto trailing not far behind. For just a brief moment, Neji reactivated Byakugan and looked through the back of his head, focusing on Naruto's inner system once more. He gazed uneasily once more at the violently turbulent crests of energy, and for a moment, he was utterly bewildered at how Naruto could act so…so _carefree_ when his insides indicated otherwise. How could the blonde act so flippantly cheerful when his circulatory system was so hopelessly imbalanced? Still, Neji felt a little guilty…he _was _violating the blonde's privacy…and Naruto himself didn't seemed at all disturbed by the instability, so the Hyuuga withdrew his bloodline with a resignated sigh and temporarily put the matter out of sight and mind.

* * *

Sorry for the long update wait, minna-san! Please read and review...i'm not getting many reviews here...TT  



	7. What Lies Beneath

sorry for the long wait, minna-san! thanks again for the reviews!

chapter seven: What Lies Beneath

Harumiko Café

"Wo----ow, that is FANCY!" Naruto gasped in awe as he eagerly took in every last detail of the lavishly furnished café. Tenten winked at Neji, then sat down in a corner, motioning the duo to act likewise.

"What did I tell you? This place is great." She said gleefully.

"It is very welcoming…" Neji observed quietly. Naruto just muttered a "hn" and tensely perched himself on the seat farthest from the girl. The Hyuuga shot him a reprimanding look; Naruto barely acknowledged it and settled for playing with a loose thread on his shirt, his mouth thinned out so that it was nearly invisible.

"Naruto. Behave yourself." The harsh whisper shot from Neji's mouth before he could even think twice.

Naruto looked up and shot him dead in the eye with an ice-cold glare absolutely sodden with sheer hostility. Neji recoiled; never had he seen pure loathing in those radiant blue eyes before, but to think that he was now on the full receiving end of the steel-set glower that oozed such….such _hatred_…the Hyuuga felt a sickening sense of dread as Naruto slowly sliced through every bit of skin, tissue, and organ with his razor-sharp gaze, scorching Neji with the fire-forged ice of his glare until the Hyuuga could positively feel his flesh blister at the sight. Normally azure-teal eyes were now black with animosity, two limitless depths which seemed to sap Neji's soul straight out of his body.

The look died and Naruto turned away, still cruelly mutilating the napkin in front of him as he emblazoned twin holes of corrosion into the innocent table with his gaze.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?" Tenten's concerned voice cut through the loud silence. Naruto looked up and displayed his phoniest smile yet, a mixture saturated with hypocrisy and false assurance. Neji wasn't surprised to see the brunette's smile momentarily flicker.

"I'm…fine! Why do you ask? Do you think there's something wrong with me?" Naruto asked, his voice two notches too high. Neji winced delicately. The blatant implication was too blindingly obvious. He supposed Tenten grasped it, though whether she chose to show it was entirely closed to the outward environment.

"No…it's just that you're not looking quite—"

"Ah, here's the waiter! I'd like a glass of fresh coconut juice please!" Naruto loudly interrupted with a dose of feigned enthusiasm. The startled waiter hurriedly accredited the order and turned to Neji.

"And for you?"

"Iced tea please." The Hyuuga said calmly.

"I'd like a Coke, if you don't mind." Tenten added. The waiter nodded, set down menus, and waltzed off to get drinks. The minute he was gone, Neji turned to Naruto with a look of great reproof.

"Naruto—"

"My, they DO have a LOT of entries, don't they?"

"Naruto—"

"I think I'll have the gyouza, what do you think, Tenten?" Naruto chattered away, mouth going a mile a second.

"W-well, the gyouza is a little—" Tenten tried to interject, but Naruto gave her not a chance.

"Yes, I think I'll have the gyouza, or maybe the takoyaki, or hey, they have ramen here too, right? But I think since this is a rather special occasion, you know with you finally snagging such a WONDERFUL girl, and so very lovely too, I think I'll settle on the fried noodles, yes, that's what I'll do—"

"Naruto—" Neji attempted another futile effort at shutting up the blonde.

"Ah, here comes the waiter! WAITER-SAN! THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE HERE! SUCH FINE SERVICE THIS PLACE HAS!" Naruto's voice abruptly skyrocketed several levels in volume. The startled waiter smiled benignly and set down the drinks. No sooner had Neji thanked him then Naruto took off to the races once more.

"I WOULD LIKE THE CHOW MENG, PLEASE! EXTRA SEAFOOD AND VEGETABLES ON TOP, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" The bewildered waiter hesitantly wrote down the order as if he weren't quite sure just how to deal with the perpetually-moving blonde with the manic eyes and the remarkably shrill voice.

"A-and you, sir?"

"HE'LL BE HAVING THE TAKOYAKI WITH FRIED CALAMARI!" Though this was indeed the order Neji had chosen, nevertheless he was quite taken aback when Naruto practically shoved his face in the waiter's own counterpart and wrote the order down himself.

"AND THE LOVELY YOUNG LADY OVER THERE WILL BE HAVING THE LOBSTER WITH EXTRA HOT SAUCE!"

"Naruto-kun, I really don't like hot sauce—"

No matter how Neji or Tenten tried to save what little sanity the blonde had retained, the poor Naruto was past salvation. So it was extremely shocking when all of a sudden the blonde abruptly shut up, muttered a jumbled something about going to the bathroom, and was off like a shot, his legs a blur as they swiftly transported his body away.

The orders arrived, but Naruto didn't show. After half an hour of waiting, Neji and Tenten gave up and started on their own portions with a resignated sigh. Tenten looked up, mahogany eyes clouded with concern and bewilderment

"Is he always like this?" She asked Neji, who shrugged in confusion.

"I have never seen him so high-strung. It doesn't look like anything's wrong with him, but perhaps it might be…personal problems, do you follow?" Tenten nodded.

"What's he normally like?" She leaned forward and cupped her chin with her hands. A brief smile graced Neji's elegant countenance as he envisioned the blonde.

"He is…headstrong, that I can guarantee. Naruto is definitely headstrong, and that more than anything else makes him stand out among a crowd. His determination does have a physical effect upon his being…he holds himself a certain way…and he's extremely confident in everything he does." Neji said softly, a wistful look in pearlescent eyes. Tenten nodded, soaking up the information.

"Well…I don't know what's made him so unusually tense today…but perhaps you'll get a chance to meet his normal personality. Naruto always reverts back to normal before too long."

For some strange, inexplicable reason, Tenten's smile looked a little bit off.

"Yes, I shall be looking forward to that."

After School

"Wow, we have four classes together! Isn't that amazing, Neji-kun? You're taking the same classes as I am! Who would have thought…on such a big campus…" Tenten laughed as she walked alongside, matching Neji's long stride with her own light-footed walk.

"Oh! My aunt's holding a party tonight to celebrate her birthday, and I have to come…" She trailed off. After a moment's pause, Neji spoke up.

"You wish me to attend to relieve you of an otherwise mundanely dull evening?" He quipped with a rare smile. Tenten brightened considerably.

"Yeah! I mean…" She clapped a hand over her mouth.

"If anyone else asks, tell them you're extremely interested in social parties, okay?" She whispered with a conspirational laugh.

"Very well." Neji said.

Later

Naruto looked up, an utterly stunned look on his features.

"You, of all people, are going to a DINNER PARTY!" Neji winced delicately.

"Must you yell in such a hair-raising manner?" He asked disapprovingly. Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. So why are you going to this one?" He inquired.

"Tenten asked me to go, since she's required to bring a guest." Neji said carefully, then hastily stuffed his fingers in his ears.

"YOU'RE GOING WITH _HER_!" The Hyuuga flinched. Even with plugged ears, Naruto's voice could still crack one's hearing.

"I see nothing wrong with Tenten." Neji said blandly. Something flashed in Naruto's eyes but was gone the next moment.

"I didn't say there was something wrong with her…per se…but you know…I mean…" He trailed off, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip. The Hyuuga sighed.

"Are you perhaps against me having another friend besides yourself?" He inquired. Naruto immediately shook his head, eyes frantic.

"Nononononononononono, it's nothing like that, I mean it's your life and you can do what you want with it…" He worked his jaw, searching for the correct words.

"I think it's just a matter of personal preference." He finally said with an air of great caution. Neji seemed to find the answer satisfactory.

"I won't blame you then. People vary in their tastes." He said finally, earning a sigh of relief from Naruto.

"Perhaps you would care to join me?" The Hyuuga asked lightly. The blonde in question casually tapped a nail on the side of his mouth, said piece of anatomy twisted thoughtfully to one side.

"Ummmm…actually I'm busy that day." He said carelessly. The look on Neji's face blatantly announced that he had no set intention of believing the blonde's rather ersatz remark.

"Since when has a complete and utter slacker like you been busy for more than six minutes at a shot?" To his great surprise, Naruto actually laughed at the barb.

"You really haven't been around me long enough, have you?" He quipped mischievously.

"Actually I do have something booked, so I really can't come. Besides, I don't think Tenten-san would want a secondarily-invited guest at her party, so I'll nix for now." He explained. After a moment's disappointment, Neji nodded.

"Well then, I just guess I'll have to amuse myself without your company." He sighed mockingly, then laughed as Naruto elbowed him in ribs.

"Don't tempt me. I'm in enough trouble as it is." He chastised.

"Promise me you'll come over once I've come home from the party." Neji said. One side of Naruto's mouth curved up delicately.

"Perhaps then you'd wish to discuss all the mundanely redundant events that happened at the gala, fall on your knees, and praise my utter wisdom for not wasting precious seconds of my life at such a dull event." He retorted playfully. Neji smiled.

"Or perhaps then I'd wish to discuss the extraordinarily _lovely_ time I spent there and have you fall down on your knees and beg me to take you to the next social party I go to." He shot back. Naruto feigned shock.

"As if I'd lower myself down to that level. But sure, I'll come over." He relented, then rose to his feet.

"Damn, I'm late for detention…" He muttered, setting off at a brisk trot. Neji rolled his eyes.

"I thought you had three free ones. Remember our detention together? We cleaned the whole trophy room spotless, so the proctor let us off with three…oh don't tell me." Neji said in sudden realization.

"I did have three free ones, but I used them up, so this one I have attend." He said with a wink, earning the promised look of blatant disbelief.

"If I didn't know you any better, I'd imagine you actually _like_ detention."

"Well I don't recall ever saying that I DIDN'T like it, did I?" Naruto countered. After a moment's thought to confirm the comment, Neji nodded thoughtfully.

"I find that rather hard to believe…but why do you like getting into trouble so much? It doesn't do wonders for your record."

"Unless it's the record of the most detentions ever performed in one set school year. This one makes it…oh…number 168?" Naruto said in mock thought.

"Seriously?" Neji's eyes were wide with feigned disgust.

"No, you fool. But I do have a lot…perhaps they'll present me with a special plaque. I can imagine it now..." He waved his hands in the air, presenting an invisible headline. "Monokuromu Sophomore Is More Beneficial to School Cleanliness than Janitors Combined…" He said dramatically, earning a laugh out of Neji. The Hyuuga reached out and rumpled up the white-gilded locks; Naruto whined and patiently showed Neji how to _correctly_ mess up hair, again enticing a chuckle from the Hyuuga.

"You're hopeless, you know that?" He said.

"I know. And I'm proud of it." Naruto said with a smirk, then turned and waltzed towards the campus.

"Now if you don't mind, I really must get to a nice little tea party with the proctor." He crooned, and melted fluidly behind a building.

Neji watched him go with a mixture of excessive inward amusement and admiration. Naruto was really something else at times, and the blonde's sporadic unpredictable behavior never managed to create a dull moment.

* * *

(whistles) tis off to practice again... 


	8. Trials and Confessions

Chapter Eight: Trials and Confessions

After School

Neji sighed and raked a hand through his obsidian locks, rearranging a few stubborn, traitorous strands of hair. He unlocked his apartment and was about to enter when a hand came down upon his shoulder and he turned, startled, only to find that Hizashi was staring at him with what looked like a faintly remorseful glimmer in his snow-white eyes.

"He is waiting for you in your apartment." The older man said in a soft, rueful voice, then gently pushed Neji through the open door to his apartment and closed it with a click. The younger Hyuuga shot a brief backward glance of mystification towards the door, then proceeded warily into the living room.

"I am glad you could make it."

Pale eyes snapped to the squashy chintz couch upon which sat an imposing, regal figure. Hiashi sat with his arms and legs crossed, staring intently at Neji's stunned figure. His hair was pulled up into a high, immaculate ponytail that somehow managed to make his angled face even more harsh than usual. Hiashi had a certain ruthless, unsympathetic look about him that accented his brusque features.

Neji sank into a bow, trickles of midnight spilling over his sloping shoulders.

"How do you do, Hiashi-sama?"

"I am well. Yourself?" The responding comment was more out of formality than anything else.

"I am in good health." A extensive, awkward silence ensued. Hiashi's stoic countenance remained expressionless as usual, revealing nothing about the subject matter.

"Why have you come?" Neji said, desperate to ease the suffocating tension. Hiashi shrugged; the supposedly casual movement only served to make the strain more overpowering.

"I merely wished to check up on you." He said in a sick parody of an offhand voice. Neji suppressed the shudder that threatened to surface.

"Hizashi-san makes frequent reports. You have no reason to come here. I don't wish you to waste your time. You are monitoring me through Hizashi-san, so you will be able to make your observations and tests in peace, correct?" He blurted out. Hiashi idly tilted his head to the side, his mouth widening in a smile that didn't melt the deadpanned lack of emotion in his cold, pale eyes.

"Why Neji, you sound almost as if you'd like me to leave." Neji recoiled at this comment.

"N-no—"

"Have you perhaps forgotten our little agreement? I'd give you free will as long as you did as I wished? I did bring you into this world, you know, so I expect the highest of gratitude." Hiashi chided, unsmiling.

Why indeed was he suddenly so apprehensive about having Hiashi in his presence? The man hadn't done anything to wrong him…but then again, Hiashi was his creator, which only reminded Neji that he wasn't a normal human being, birthed into the world the way a normal human being would have been birthed. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Hiashi _was _his creator, and it was entirely Hiashi's fault that he came into the world the way he did come. There was a little bit of resentment there…but then again, Hiashi had given him life, so he had to feel a little grateful…

So engrossed in his mental battle was he that Neji almost missed what Hiashi spoke.

"Pardon?" The older man graced the younger Hyuuga with a look bordering on condescendence.

"You look positively troubled, Neji. Do tell me what's wrong." The fatherly tone in his voice drove the younger Hyuuga to the verge of insanity. Neji looked away, hair obscuring his eyes.

"There's nothing wrong. Nothing at all, Hiashi-sama." He mumbled.

"I only wish for your supreme and utter happiness, Neji. If there's anything at all that you need, I would be most happy if you'd let me know." He said, his voice soft and concerned. The comment was no less painful to Neji than as if Hiashi had raked claws across a blackboard. He bit his lip and ground it painfully, desperate for the conversation to be over. Hiashi, however, seemed to have no intention of leaving.

"So, how goes life? Have you made any friends? Any girls you have your eye on? Do tell." Hiashi said lightly. Neji hastily licked his lower lip clean of the blood from his teeth, pressing his mouth shut to keep the bite-marks from showing.

"Why do you need to know, Hiashi-sama? You do have Hizashi-san to report on me." He said, a defensive flicker in his snow-white eyes. Hiashi tilted his head to the side, amused.

"Please, I do wish to hear your point of view."

What the hell. If it would make Hiashi get out of his life all the sooner, Neji would be more than happy to talk.

"I have what could be considered as a best friend, by the name of Naruto. He's blonde and blue-eyed, and he has three scars across his cheeks. I also have another friend whom I met recently. Her name is Tenten. She has brown hair and brown eyes and is always constantly cheerful. School is well. My teachers are nice to me." He shot out the short, choppy sentences at full gallop. Hiashi looked mockingly disappointed.

"Dear dear, I would have preferred a little more detail, but if that's the best answer you can give me, then I don't believe I shall ask any more of you." He said unsmiling, then stood and crossed to the door. Neji let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and visibly slumped against the wall.

A hand came down upon him in an iron-clad grasp, squeezing the tendons in Neji's shoulder.

"Don't forget who you're loyal to now." Hiashi made no attempt to mask the frost that laced his voice.

His hand lingered on Neji's shoulder for what seemed like an eternity. The young Hyuuga sucked in his breath through his teeth as the searing ice of the hand burned an imprint into his shoulder. So cold…so cold…Hiashi's hand was so goddamned _cold _against his skin. It seemed to burn a tattoo into his skin, through his skin, into his very spirit, cruelly dampening the small flame, the tiny flame that both Naruto and himself had unconsciously worked so hard to cultivate.

At long last, just when Neji thought he'd go insane with the pressure, Hiashi removed the offending object.

"Do be good, will you not?" He murmured sibilantly, then melted out of the room.

Neji leant against the wall, eyes wide and staring in terror. Just now…why did he feel such _fear_ towards his creator? Hiashi was to be loved. It was only natural, seeing that Hiashi was the one who allowed Neji to exist in the first place. So then why was it, _why was it_ that Neji felt such terror when within a three-foot radius of the man? He didn't know…or perhaps he did not _want_ to know.

A black mark caught at the edges of his peripheral vision and he turned, only to see the date and time of Tenten's party circled in black on his calendar.

Biting out a phrase of highly explicit yet colorful vocabulary (he supposed he either learned it from one particularly foul-mouthed teacher by the name of Anko, or from Naruto himself, who frequently exhibited a vastly expansive repertoire of fine-polished invective when exchanging pleasantries with said sensei), the Hyuuga turned and rummaged around in his closet for a spare suit. Hizashi had given him one a long time ago, but he seemed to have misplaced it; how he could misplace something that large was beyond any sane reason.

He finally located the troublesome article, which was lurking in the back of the closet with the dust. Suppressing a sneeze, Neji pulled off the protective covering (it saved him quite a lot of cleaning, fortunately) and spread out the suit on the nearby coffee table. It was immaculately tailored, a suit of the impeccable Armani brand. Hizashi had even provided a complimentary tie, a marvelously-sewn indigo-black silk tie with speckles of white scattered most tastefully to connote a twilight sky. A matching hair-ribbon was also wisely provided, which matched the tie sans stars.

Sending silent thanks to his guardian, Neji crossed to the bathroom and stripped down to the bare. Folding his clothes neatly on the counter, he loosed his hair from its customary tie and shook out his locks, smiling as they cascaded down his back like a silk, midnight curtain. He liked the feel of hair on his back; if there was one thing he had to praise Hiashi for, it was for giving him his absurdly long hair. Rather ironic, Neji thought, for there was a certain memory that toggled his mind, a memory of a morning not so long ago when he was quite frustrated with his hair until a certain blonde intervened…

The small smile still lingering on his mouth, Neji stepped into the shower and turned on the water, hissing slightly as the cold beat down on his back. The water warmed, however, and the Hyuuga was left to relish the bliss of the hot liquid flowing in rivulets over his body, loosening muscle and relaxing tendon. He tilted his head back to let the water slick down his hair, then on an impulse, tilted back even more and caught some liquid in his mouth, letting the water run down his chin. It was a very Naruto-like action, but as long as no one was watching, Neji didn't particularly care.

Most of the time, provided he was in a fairly normal mood, Neji tended to have a rather mild affinity (more or less) towards his outlandishly long tresses. They did provide him with quite an accurate sense of wind-direction, for one, though he wasn't quite sure that was a plausible reason. He'd never considered cutting his hair; he'd surmised he'd look somewhat strange in short hair and he much preferred the comfortable weight of his tresses. Granted, they did take close to a day to blow-dry, but then again, Neji was perfectly comfortable with running a comb through the strands of black and letting them dry on their own. The tangles though…it took him a while to get over the fact that once his hair was hopelessly snarled, it'd take a steel-clad comb to unravel the knots. Unraveling knots used to drive him to the point of insanity until a certain blonde showed him how to do it…

And there was the greatest, most valid reason he could think of for having such impossibly long hair. Naruto loved to play with his hair; the blonde would frequently plunge both hands into the silken threads and incessantly finger-comb for hours at a time. Though one of the Hyuuga's great annoyances was when random people (typically girls) would feel up his tresses, he minded not when Naruto played with his hair, as long as he didn't tie it up in flashy, bright ribbons. Then again, while most foreign paws that were brave enough to swipe at his hair were often rough and coarse, painful as they sometimes caught in a renegade snarl, Naruto's fingers were deft and gentle, never pulling by force, always patient, always tender.

Naruto had an affinity to toy with Neji's hair whenever provided the chance, which was very frequently given that the two had six classes together. He'd sit beside the Hyuuga and fidget with random strands during classes. It had become almost of a habit of his; Neji would feel a gentle tug at his hair and find the blonde absently twirling a loose piece around his finger. Naruto himself, unless it was intentionally, never seemed to realize that he had been fingering Neji's hair, and the knowledge seemed to provoke vociferous apologies. Neji didn't mind, really; he rather liked the comprehension that it gave the elusive blonde pleasure to wind hair through his fingers.

With a jolt, Neji realized that he'd drifted off in thought in the middle of his shower, and that his water was starting to get cold. Increasing the temperature controller, he lathered soap into his hair and down his body, quickly rinsing and drying off. Mentally smiting himself for thinking too much about Naruto, he swiftly dressed and tied his hair into a low ponytail, the ribbon tied a third of the way down his back. He slicked back dark silk hastily tied his tie, and promptly set off towards the garage and his car, a thoroughly magnificent figure in his tall regality.

_He sat cross-legged on his bed, a serene expression upon his finely chiseled countenance. His back was perfectly straight, his legs comfortably crossed with his arms resting gently upon them. Gilded lashes rested, closed, as his breathing evened out and his mind shut down. _

_He called upon it then. Delving deep inside of himself, he located the single flame, the tiny spark that was his soul. He did not stop, he did waver, he pushed onward until he stood tall in front of a blazing bonfire, lit bright with energy. It pulsed and writhed chaotically, ever-changing, ever-shifting. The crimson-bright light convulsed and pulsed spastically, and as he sent it a silent, pleading request, a small portion of the fire detached itself and confronted him in the form of a fox. He looked at it silently, giving thanks to the core of the energy, then turned and walked away, knowing it would follow. Follow it did, and when he opened his eyes, it was still there, a tiny, burning flame in the middle of his palm._

_It was the scarlet silhouette of a fox that he held in the palm of his hand. He looked at it; it seemed to stare back at him. _

"_Go. Find him…seek him out. Let me see what you see… may you have a swift journey." _

_It seemed to consider the information, and then vanished in a wisp of blood-red vapor._

_

* * *

_I don' wanna go home from caaaaampppp...TT 


	9. Sinking Suspicions

Well, I'm back from camp. Whoopee. Now it's time for the ever lovely SAT classes. sobs

For those of you who asked: Tenten's family was created by Hiashi to serve as a cover for her origins.

Chapter Nine: Sinking Suspicions

He pushed through the milling crowd with a thread of annoyance. Good lord, Tenten's aunt must have invited half the world's population to the party. Held in a vast, illuminated, undoubtedly luxurious ballroom, the occasion seemed a bit too overly lavish…but then again, Neji surmised, he'd never been to such a large gala before, and if he looked through the eyes of experienced social butterflies, he highly expected that he'd find this event rather redundant.

How he was to find Tenten in this throng was going to prove a challenge without his Byakugan. Tilting his head so that his hair fell over his eyes (the veins that throbbed at his eyes would look quite disconcerting to the average onlooker), he deftly flicked an amplified gaze around the ballroom, neatly pinpointing his target sulking against a pillar downstairs. The Hyuuga descended the imposing marble staircase and picked his way through the groups of Armani-clad men and Chanel-decked women until he noiselessly came up behind the Tenten's slender frame.

After a period of five minutes, the brunette turned around and started in surprise as she witnessed Neji's form behind her.

"Neji! Don't scare me like that!" One delicate hand pressed itself against her heart.

She was magnificent in all her feminine glory. Her hair was done up in its customary buns, though she'd artfully threaded pale irises through her glossy locks. Her body was dripped into a stunning midnight velvet dress which clung in all the right places, accentuating every curve, every slope. The neckline was swoopingly low, displaying the barest hint of cleavage, and a glittering opal necklace laced upon a silver chain adorned her neck, complimenting the pearl-drop earrings that depended from her ears. She looked up at Neji's absolutely stunned countenance through thick, long lashes.

"So, how do you like it so far?" Her voice was like satin. Neji suddenly found that his tongue had somehow developed a rather thick layer of grit that was almost impossible to get rid of.

"It's magnificent so far," he used the chance to avert his eyes. "Your aunt did a fine job selecting the place and the company." He said in what he hoped was a calm tone. Tenten let out a bell-like laugh.

"Please don't start patronizing me." She murmured, then slid across the marble-tiled floor, delicately plucked a glass from a nearby tray, and handed it to Neji.

"Champagne?"

Neji politely declined the offer; Tenten shrugged and took a delicate sip, fingers artfully grasping the fragile stem of her glass.

Just then something flashed across his vision and Neji turned, suddenly wary. This was no random movement of the crowd. He was sure it was something more, something crucial, something to be aware of. Whispering an excuse for his distraction, Neji took the opportunity to scan the surrounding area for any signs of suspicious movement. Thrice he closely scrutinized the ballroom, and thrice the movement had eluded him. Nevertheless, Neji kept his perpetual vision finely tuned in case it decided to show itself again.

"Neji? Is something wrong?" Tenten's voice cut through his thoughts. The Hyuuga quickly reassured her and hastily started a light conversation about school, all the while still on the alert for any signs of distrustful movement.

It flashed across his vision again, and this time he didn't bother to hide his alarm. Neji executed a perfect right face, staring directly into the spot where he'd seen it before. On an impulse, he activated Byakugan, but could locate nothing out of the ordinary. After a few more minutes of trying, he reluctantly gave up and turned his attention back to Tenten, though every nerve was more alert than ever before.

"Neji, are you sure everything's okay?" Tenten's concerned voice once again disrupted his thoughts. Neji turned back to her with a comforting smile.

"I'm fine, I mistook someone over there for another person." Neji lied through his teeth. Tenten cocked an eyebrow, then cracked a tentative smile, looking for all the world like she didn't believe him.

"Well, if you say so…" She suddenly brightened. "Hey, let me take you to the dance floor! That will take your mind off of things…"

Before he could protest, Tenten had a surprisingly vice-like grip on his wrist and was pulling him gently towards the middle of the room. Soft music was playing, and people were already paired up, bodies swaying gently to the music. Tenten arranged his hands around her body and leaned into him, physically inviting him to move to the music. The Hyuuga decided to humor her and gently moved them around the floor, any last vestiges about the strange movement completely forgotten.

_Blood slowly trickled down the side of his mouth as his teeth cruelly sank themselves into his lower lip. The crimson liquid dripped unnoticed onto the white sheets, spawning scarlet poppies as he gnawed on said appendage, relishing in the pain that blossomed at his mouth. He watched in cold, enraged silence as the swirling red mist in front of him showed the Hyuuga dancing with his bitch out in the middle of the garishly furnished room. The fox had served him well, he had to admit…a little too well. The details that were playing out before his eyes were a little too finely-tuned. Fists clenched, leaving blood-red crescents in the middle of his palm. Curse his inability to do something about the matter. He ferociously hated having to sit and watch his best friend fall for a slut, but if he had any say in it, he'd drag that brazen hussy over a bed of sharp, rusty staples, dig her appendix out with a grapefruit spoon, ram a pint of iodine down her thyroid gland, and—_

_He shook his head in utter hopelessness. A surge of pity flowed through his veins. Poor Neji…he had no idea how completely hypocritical his woman was. The blonde winced at the term. Tenten wasn't really _his _woman, but if worse came to worst, that's what he'd have to start calling her. If worst came to extreme worst and Neji started devoting every single iota of his time to her, then he, Uzumaki Naruto, would have no other choice but to break off their friendship completely. It would be extremely difficult to do, given his feelings for the dark-haired figure, but then again, he'd had to make several soul-gashing decisions in the years he'd been alive._

_The red pulsed warningly as Neji suddenly whipped his head and stared straight into Naruto's face. The blonde jumped back, alarmed…and then realized that Neji couldn't see him. Though he certainly seemed to see _something, _no doubt…_

_A sudden terrifying thought seared a line across his mind. Suppose Neji could see the red energy floating around him…judging by the way he'd been craning his head from side to side, Naruto half-suspected he could actually see right through to the blonde himself. A second later, the Hyuuga turned away, and to Naruto's great dismay, continued chatting with the brownette beside him. The blonde gritted his teeth. Neji definitely saw something though. He'd have to take more precautions later._

_He decided to go to bed and turn off the—for lack of a better word—fox camera for now. Neji probably wouldn't come home until the wee hours of the night, and besides, he had instructed his little crucible to alert him if any sudden bursts of emotion were felt. He got into bed and irritably pulled up the covers, dropping out like a light. Fox would tell him when it was over too…despite making the most unwise choice of attending the party, Neji was still his friend, and he at least owed him back for driving him to school that other day…_

Eventually trickles of people broke away from the crowd, returning to their cars like small torrents from a stream. The trickles eventually became a flood as the party came to a close. Neji did nothing to resist the flood, moving easily along with the exiting people, Tenten at his side, artfully maneuvering throughout the swarm of bodies. The Hyuuga breathed a sigh of relief as the surrounding pressure suddenly lightened as the throng of people went their own separate ways. He felt something rest against his shoulder and looked down to see Tenten leaning against him. The girl breathed a sigh of profound relief.

"Thank god that's over with." She sighed, then pulled away from him and turned so they were face to face. Slim, slender hands coquettishly clasped themselves together and she dipped her head, gazing coyly up at him through thick, long lashes.

"Thank you for coming with me. I really appreciate it." She said in a sweet voice. One side of Neji's mouth crooked up in a ghost of a smile.

"My pleasure." He said sincerely and turned to leave. He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned around to see Tenten's delicate fingers entwined around the fabric of his jacket, an unreadable expression on her lovely features.

"I'll…see you at school, right?" She said hesitantly. A brief frown marred Neji's elegant countenance. This Tenten was so unlike the headstrong girl he was used to seeing. Nevertheless, he answered her.

"It would be impossible not to." He replied, staying stationary in case she wanted to say anything else.

Tenten stepped a bit closer and lowered her eyes a fraction of an inch.

"No really, I do appreciate what you've done for me. I didn't force you to come, you know." She said, her voice several octaves lower than normal. Neji was thoroughly confused by now.

"You aren't ill, are you Tenten?" He inquired gently. She shook her head slightly and stepped even closer until she was almost touching his body with hers.

"No…at least I don't believe I am. All I'm saying is," she stepped even closer, one hand winding gently around his neck, the other entwining itself in his hair. "Thank you for coming."

Opalescent eyes burned with perplexity. Neji was now bewildered to the point of no return, and yet he suddenly found that he mysteriously couldn't, or perhaps, _wouldn't_ move. He stood rooted to the spot with her arms around him, his entrails suddenly writhing inside of him. Feelings of sudden apprehension and unease surged through his veins, but though his mind screamed at him to act, to move, to do _something, anything_, his body apparently had a different agenda as he found he was quite helpless. Tenten was drawing closer by the minute, eyes at half-mast now, her body pressed against his so tightly that he could almost feel every curve of her figure through her dress. Her face drew closer and closer to his, her nose brushing his, brushing past his…she was so close, he could feel puffs of her breath on his lips…he could almost feel her glossy mouth close on his…

A blinding burst of crimson-red exploded right smack in the line of his peripheral vision, and it was then that his body, for once, listened to his panicked mind and reacted.

He grasped Tenten's shoulders and wrenched her away from him, throwing them apart like two opposite ends of a magnet. The girl staggered back and almost fell over the hem of her dress, a small scream escaping her throat as she teetered off-balance. Neji spun around and fully activated Byakugan, caring not if some passing individual caught sight of his pale, vein-shot eyes. He strained to the point of inducing a sharp, splitting pain in the region of his optical nerves, but to his great agitation, the red was nowhere to be seen. The Hyuuga clenched his jaw in frustration, opalescent eyes burning caustically, mentally begging and pleading with the anonymous substance to identify itself as a last resort. To his great disappointment, the streets looked more normal than ever; he deactivated Byakugan, calming himself and steadying his breathing.

"Neji, are you absolutely certain you're all right?" Tenten's urgent voice cut through the thick silence.

"I shall manage, I'm a bit tired as of the moment…" Neji said, hurriedly sliding into his car.

"I bid you a good night, Tenten. I shall see you at school." Not bothering to wipe the bewildered look on her beautiful features, Neji gunned the engine and revved out into the street, dissipating quickly into the traffic.

He was rather rudely awakened by a sharp pulsing in his brain. The small flame of red fox-shaped energy was standing over him with what looked like a vaguely accomplished look in its nonexistent eyes. Naruto grumbled, coughed, and rose, running a vacant hand through his butter-hued locks. It seemed like the party was over…and then a dreadful thought hit his mind and he turned to the fox so fast that his blankets sailed through half of the floating red energy. The animal seemed to cast a reproachful glance in his direction.

"Play back what happened after the dance." Naruto ordered urgently. After a moment's hesitation, the fox dissolved into a wide, squarish sort of screen, leaving the blonde to sort out the jumbled mess of events currently displaying.

He stopped short on one scene, sharp blue eyes cutting daggers at what he saw. Tenten had her arms around Neji and was leaning far too close to him. Naruto's breath started coming in quick, shallow gasps as her lips traveled closer and closer to Neji's own mouth…

The playback cut off abruptly. For a minute, Naruto wondered why it did that…and then memory came flooding back to him as well as a burning liquid known as rage. He remembered now. How could he not have—he himself shut off the playback when

(_the shameless whore)_

Tenten was on the verge of swapping spit with his best friend. Yes, that was right. He also remembered the four gouges he'd ripped open in the plaster of his wall right before her lips collided with Neji's. How could he forget such a thing, forget the feelings of bloodlust and hatred surge through his veins like electricity through white-hot metal. Thankfully, the playback had ended soon enough for him to see Neji throw her from him…that in itself had made Naruto want to cram his head out the window and yodel for joy at the top of his well-toned lungs.

The blonde sighed and ran yet another paw through his hair, caring not if he shredded a few locks in the process. He carelessly threw on some clothes and whirled out the door. Whore or no whore, Neji was still his best friend, and he owed him at least that to honor his promise.

Slipping like a wraith through the alleyways of the city, Naruto arrived once more in front of the imposing doors of the Semaruku apartment complex. A smirk poured onto his face like molasses on a cold December day. Never had he thought he'd be able to enter this place again; it seemed like Lady Luck herself had somehow taken a fancy to him, or, he thought with a smirk, according to the most sapient philosophies of his exceedingly _competent_ teacher Jiraiya-sensei, his ass.

He carefully opened the door to the complex, thankful that a plant roughly the size of a small palm tree partially covered the entrance. Sliding himself behind said plant, he slanted a glance at the dimly lit reception desk, judged the person behind the desk was asleep (he certainly looked so, and if not, Naruto wasn't in any sort of remote danger of being caught; the man snoozing behind the desk had what looked suspiciously like a porn magazine completely draped over his face), and slithered sneakily into the elevator, positively dripping ironic smirks onto the finely woven elevator carpeting. A thumb depressed the button for the seventeenth floor, and Naruto reveled in the strong sense of déjà vu as he ascended to his destination.

* * *

Long ago, I told you this would be a NejiNaru ficcie, right? Well...tbc...until the next chappie then... 


	10. Truth

Hahaha...sorry for updating so slowly...this chappie'sa long one to make up for it, ne?

Chapter 9: Truth

In Neji's Apartment

Pale fingers deftly flicked the tuxedo jacket and undershirt from his torso, the garments pooling to the ground under him. Neji gathered up his clothes, hung them neatly in his closet, and deposited his hair- and neck-tie on a nearby chair. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he shook out his hair, letting the exquisite midnight waterfall of hair fall down his elegant, magnificently carved torso, trickling in liquid rivulets down to brush the backs of his thighs and his finely-chiseled shoulders. He was just about to hang up his tie when three soft knocks were heard at the door and he turned, any second thoughts about the tie already forgotten. He had a high suspicion as to who would have the insanity to drop by for tea in the god-awful hours of the night, but all the same, one couldn't be too careful. Still, if the person on the other side of the door was who he thought it was, he'd be all too happy to let him in; a good deal of questions Neji had for a certain person, one which he hoped was his visitor.

He reached for the doorknob and turned it a little too quickly in his anticipation. The door flung open and he looked down into the face of Uzumaki Naruto himself.

The sheer magnificence of the sight of Neji's marvelously chiseled bare torso didn't quite fully register in his brain until he'd blinked at least five times, and when it did finally hit, Naruto almost tripped over his feet from the sheer impact. Neji stood there in all of his splendor, threads of silken hair falling down his shoulders and his face like gossamer threads of midnight, interweaving, interchanging, forming beautiful patterns that accentuated his lithe, limber body. And the thing that slapped the icing on the cake was that Neji himself hadn't a single, solitary clue that the mere sight of him just about stopped Naruto's heart. A faintly expectant, but otherwise mildly normal expression was currently strapped on his face, and this show of pure innocence was what endeared him to Naruto more than anything else in the world. Eventually Neji's mouth twitched up in a smile as he invited the flabbergasted blonde into his apartment.

Naruto's mind certainly registered the request, but his feet had an agenda of their own and refused to budge despite his brain's insisting signals. When Neji found that Naruto hadn't followed him in yet, he turned around and made his way back to the blonde, unconsciously blasting Naruto with yet another heavenly vision of his sleek, supple body. Slender fingers reached out, rippling sinew and taut muscle, and to the blonde's great disconcert, Neji reached out and slowly stroked the line of his jaw, beautiful opalescent eyes clouded with worry.

"Are you okay, Naruto? You don't look well…"

Somewhere in the poor, tattered mists of his thoroughly befuddled mind, Naruto vaguely registered that this moment was distressing, dismaying, annoying, amazing, and rather wonderful. To have this heaven-sent creature caressing his cheek in such a manner…it took every last ounce of his self control to snap himself out of what would have been a very blissful yet extremely awkward moment, to scathingly remind himself that this was _Neji_, his best friend, and to make some feeble effort to compose himself with what little dignity he had left.

"I…I'm…uh…I'm fine! Really. Don't worry yourself about me, I think it's just the fact that it's so late…"

The few wisps of shavings that served as his brain dimly registered that Neji was apologizing profusely for having called him up at such a godforsaken hour of the night, but Naruto really didn't give two whoops in Hades, for all it was worth; his feet, after a much delayed reaction, decided to respond and tried to walk into Neji's apartment. Tried to. Naruto's eyesight failed him miserably, not noticing that there was a body currently standing in the doorway, so he ended up nose-to-chest with Neji's bare torso.

He stood stock still, nose still buried in the Hyuuga's chest, subconsciously inhaling the musky-sweet scent that was Neji's alone. He could feel the heat radiating from the Hyuuga's body which sent his stomach plummeting to his feet and made it seem like his tongue had suddenly inflated to the point where it threatened to burst from his mouth. Neji himself was still looking down at Naruto with the same mild expression as before, albeit a trifle more puzzled. Just when the poor blonde thought things couldn't get any worse, he felt Neji's cool, calm fingers sliding against the line of his jaw, tilting up his head. Abruptly every nerve in his body immediately screamed at him to move, to do _something, anything_ to prevent the forthcoming event, but he was past all hope, and his eyes came in direct contact with Neji's searching gaze.

He could _feel_ the hot, liquid electricity sizzle down his spine, sending a jolt of magma swirling through his body. Desperately he tried to break away, but again his body wouldn't respond, so he remained where he was, Neji's slender fingers gently cupping his jaw as the Hyuuga's eyes seared their mark into the very pupils of his own. He'd never quite noticed how suddenly beautiful Neji's eyes were, and to have this chance now, when Neji was so palpably unaware, was a rare blessing indeed. Neji's eyes were like twin marble-chipped gems that glittered and gleamed with a transcendent quality which only served to heighten the undertints of pearl and opal that glossed his magnificent orbs. And unconsciously, Naruto's own eyelids began to close as he leaned into the fresh, cooling touch of Neji's fingers on his jaw.

"Naruto, are you absolutely certain you are well?" It was the current of apprehension in Neji's tone that rudely snapped him back to the present. Naruto immediately pasted a smile on his face, rubbing one hand sheepishly behind his head.

"Aaahahaha…I'm fine, really." He said effusively. With a shrug of one sloping shoulder that rippled the ropey sinews and muscle in his chest (Naruto hastily clapped a hand over his nose just for extra security), Neji turned and walked into the living room.

The sight of Neji's back sent another ripple of white-hot fire through Naruto's body. Never before had he seen Neji with his hair completely unbound, and to see it now, cascading down his back and brushing the backs of his knees was a vision that suddenly made breathing an extremely difficult task for the blonde. Staggering weakly with the sudden onslaught of visuals, Naruto successfully walked the fourteen paces into the apartment, barely making it into the living room without falling comatose on the carpeting. Neji turned around again and gestured to the couch; Naruto thanked whatever gods there were that made the Hyuuga decide this, for he wasn't sure his legs could support him for much longer.

He sank onto the couch and breathed a subconscious sigh of relief, which was very rapidly choked off as he fought to keep his facial color at normal as Neji gracefully sank onto the couch next to him. Fingernails dug white crescents into his palm as Naruto fought to keep his self-control. He felt something lightly brush his thigh, and when he discovered that Neji's leg was touching his own, the tentative, shy tension that suddenly barreled headfirst into the stratosphere had a certain timid, sensational intimacy that couldn't be rivaled by any of the touching moments since the first time they met.

The hairs on his neck suddenly stood erect with tension and he stiffened, every single nerve rigid with fear, not directed at Neji…no, this fear was a fear that he'd lose the last vestiges of what was left of his sanity. He could feel the burning trail on his neck that the Hyuuga had hotly scraped out with his eyes. Senses giving in, Naruto turned and met Neji's eyes with his own, and once more the golden cord of warmth connected their souls. The moment was short-lived however; Neji broke the delicate union and lowered his gaze, suddenly looking uncomfortable. For a brief, terrible instant, Naruto's heart threatened to crack and fall to pieces at his feet for fear of Neji's withdrawal, but then, to his great surprise and utter consternation the Hyuuga asked a question that left him with his intestines snarled hopelessly around his stomach.

"Naruto…when someone gets close to you…I mean, right up close to you…what does that mean?" He asked in an unusually soft voice.

He was frozen solid where he sat, his heart slowly turning to ice inside of his chest. He nearly staggered with the effort that it took just to breathe; a strange lump had suddenly formed inside of his throat, and no matter how hard he tried to swallow, it remained stuck obstinately somewhere in the region of his larynx. Tenten….Naruto gasped for breath. Tenten…he meant Tenten…of course he meant Tenten…Tenten and her many attempts to kiss him…Tenten…his knuckles went white with the pressure of his clenched fists. For one deliciously tainted moment, Naruto seriously considered lying through his teeth and pretending he hadn't a clue what Neji was talking about…but then, he suddenly realized, if he didn't tell him, Neji would turn to the next best person, that being Tenten herself. And if he asked Tenten…Naruto flinched at the thought. If he asked Tenten, the girl wouldn't hesitate to use that excuse to drag his ass into bed and give him a long, slow and sultry tongue bath. After a minute's contemplation in which a million different ways to answer Neji's question flashed through his mind, Naruto resigned himself to the fact that there was no easy answer, and that the best way to deliver the medicine would be quick and blunt.

"Uhm…well…" Curse his vocal cords. Curse them, curse them, curse them thrice over. Why here, why _now_, _why_ did they have to fail him when they never had before? After a few awkward moments, in which he garbled incomprehensible gibberish in Neji's general direction, Naruto finally found his voice after a long, frantic search.

"W-well…did this so-called person close her eyes?" At Neji's nod, Naruto continued.

"And did this person appear to be leaning in the general direction of your mouth?" Again Neji nodded after a moment's thought. Naruto let out a sigh that seemed to reverberate from the very depths of his wearied soul.

"Then she was trying to kiss you." He said in a barely audible whisper. Neji sat bold upright, eyes glittering with confusion.

"Kiss…me? But I thought kisses were done normally on the cheek…" He trailed off, brow marred in puzzlement. Apparently Hizashi never told him about this new kind of kiss. And was it his imagination, or was Naruto looking like he'd aged ten years?

"Well…there are friendly kisses…those done on the cheek…" He sighed, then continued.

"And there are the kisses which mean you are in love with the other person. These kisses are done on the mouth, and are done by…the opposite gender." He said. Neji strained to catch the words, but barely had he comprehended then Naruto went on.

"These kisses…well, you have to press your mouth to the other person's…and if you're desperately, passionately in love with her…then you use your tongue as well...these are kisses for…uhm…inducing pleasure, you know?" He finished lamely, then arched his shoulder in a small shrug.

"That's about it, I guess." He mumbled softly.

A shadow fell over his face and he looked up to see Neji staring at him with a gaze that seared through his soul, feeling it, caressing it, yet causing it great distress as well. The Hyuuga grew closer, and suddenly Naruto found it impossible to move, to function, to…to _exist_. He inched backwards reflexively as Neji moved forward, continued to do so until he felt the arm of the couch press against his back, and suddenly he knew he could go no farther.

"Naruto…could you show me how to kiss?" He asked candidly.

He was frozen. Shocked. Dead. The eight delicate, miniscule words that slipped like silk out of Neji's mouth practically tore his heart into wispy slips of shreds. A most interesting cocktail of emotions tore like a racehorse through his veins; pleasure, pain, heartbreak, ecstasy…they combined, coagulated into a steaming hurricane of sensation inside his general chest cavity and liquidated every single working organ that existed under his skin. For a minute he struggled to breathe….the fact, the mere _fact_ that Neji wanted to kiss him nearly set his brain on fire, but the flames were quickly put out with the subsequent knowledge that Neji was only asking just for the experience, that there were no underlying feelings of possible love underneath, and—the last bit of knowledge he pulled out from his mind was like driving a steel knife into his heart and twisting it—the fact that Neji wanted to learn how to kiss because he wanted to try it on Tenten.

A flash of determination sizzled down his spine. Fine. He'd show Neji how to kiss. He'd show Neji how to kiss and he'd show him so well that Neji wouldn't even think twice about ditching Tenten's little wussy kisses for his own vastly skilled ones. He'd give him a most thorough physically-delivered lecture on just _how_ to kiss. He'd _personally_ lead Neji through the steps, show him the ropes and show him so well that pretty soon _Neji'd_ be showing him the ropes, and perhaps come up with a few interesting techniques of his own. And to add insult to the injury, Neji had asked him, _him_ how to kiss, meaning he was obviously the first up to bat for Neji's affections, meaning he was higher up on the food chain than that modelesque slut of a girl, and _meaning, goddammit, that he was going to be the one to give Neji his first kiss._ Take that, little bitch of a brunette!

He paused, cautiously, a thought suddenly occurring to him. Why on earth was he a) so insanely jealous of Tenten's affections for Neji, b) mentally squealing like a little lust-driven fangirl over Neji's lips, and c) so damned _worked up_ over the whole rigmarole in the first place? Neji was a _guy._ Neji was _male._ And most importantly…Neji. Was. NOT. Gay. At least he didn't think so. Oh god, he sure _hoped_ so, or at least he hoped that Neji could be _bi,_ but given the way things were going with Tenten, he had a high suspicion that there wasn't an ounce of gay in him at all.

And then it hit him with all the force of a tank. Was he, himself, attracted to those of his same gender? That would be a laugh. He, Uzumaki Naruto, was a queer. Undoubtedly a tremendously humorous thought had he not been actually serious about it. He began to do a mental self-diagnosis, just in case. Symptom one: he did feel a vast amount of envy towards Tenten, a perfectly normal, perfectly straight girl who only wanted someone to love her. There was nothing wrong with Tenten loving Neji…heck, she was a girl, he was a guy, it was to be expected, correct? But he felt such animosity towards the mere idea…it was definitely something completely unnerving. Symptom two: he was squealing like a little lust-crazed fangirl over Neji's ass, chest, heck, his whole _body_ for that matter, and especially his lips. That was most disconcerting, given that he was a guy, and (somewhat) in his right mind. Symptom three: he relished each and every single little detail of Neji's personality, from the spark of light that danced in his eyes when he was content or amused, to the sick animal bloodlust that filled his eyes during his encounter with Ino. The realization hit him with all the force of _two _tanks.

Holy shit. He was monstrously, desperately, passionately, overpoweringly head-over-heels in love with Neji, and there wasn't a single goddamned thing he could do about the situation. Hoooooly _shit._

When did it happen? When did it first start? When did he suddenly feel as if his life would just _stop_ if Neji ever broke the delicate connection of friendship towards him? He didn't know. And the worst thing was, now the he diagnosed himself as actually being in love with Neji, he didn't want to fall _out of love_ with the Hyuuga. He was perfectly fine the way he was, heck, he was GREAT the way he was, and he didn't want life to change. Ironically, life had changed. Whatever gods of fate there were suddenly swooped down upon him and bashed him over the head with a tennis racquet. He was gay, and in love with the most unattainable person ever on this whole entire earth. The fact that Neji was his best friend only made it worse, having him so close yet so far, and the fact that Neji was slowly falling for a brazen, stupid little—Naruto sighed inwardly and made a feeble attempt at being somewhat objective—slowly falling for Tenten punched out another hole in his already mangled heart. Dear god, he was in deep, deep, _deep _shit where he was, and the worst thing was, he was completely content with being knee-high in turd.

The feathery touch of cool fingers against his jawline brought him down from his frazzled thoughts with a rather unsightly crash.

The first thought that squirmed through his smushed brain was that Neji was really, _really_ close to him. Far too close for comfort, in fact. The second thought was that chin was currently being held captive by a thumb and a forefinger, and the third, fourth, and zillions of other thoughts that piled up in the bottleneck that was his brain all consisted of garbled fragments generally dealing with the fact that his lips were about to collide with Neji's in approximately three…two…one…

The heated touch of soft, silken lips upon his own mouth sent him careening off the edge of the world.

The only thing that wormed its way through the remaining scraps of his mutilated brain was that Neji wasn't a bad kisser. His mouth tentatively moved against Naruto's in a slow, unusually timid motion that sent lava swirling around the base of Naruto's spine and all throughout his body. Neji shifted his head, and suddenly his mouth wasn't just against, Naruto's, it was intertwined with Naruto's so that his lower lip fit sensually between Naruto's mouth while the blonde's own upper lip was caught betwixt his own. It was this more than anything else that snapped what little hesitancy that remained in Naruto's mind.

Naruto opened his mouth and received Neji's lips with his own, his hands encircling behind the Hyuuga's head to press his mouth down harder on his. He could feel the initial tension radiating from Neji, a hot flash of stiffness as Neji recoiled from the sudden force upon the back of his head, but then he responded fervently, delving into Naruto's mouth with a passionate moan. Naruto slid his tongue in between Neji's welcoming lips and ran it lightly over the roof of his mouth; the Hyuuga exhaled hoarsely and adjusted his head, his own tongue sliding over Naruto's own sweet, sweet counterpart. The taste of the Hyuuga sent hot wax slithering throughout his veins and Naruto now pressed his mouth with a deepening sense of urgency upon Neji's with a cry of passion.

He seriously considered stabbing Neji through the heart when he took his mouth off of his, but the glazed look of naked fervor in the Hyuuga's dazzling white-misted eyes reassured him of his fears. Neji leaned forward and placed fluttering half-kisses on Naruto's mouth, nipping the corner of his mouth and running his tongue over the blonde's lower lip. His kisses weren't really kisses…no, they were more like touches, feather-light brushes of his mouth upon Naruto's own, but the resulting effect somehow proved to be even more arousing than when they were entwined in a passionate liplock.

Neji let out a low, husky moan as he brought his mouth down upon Naruto's once more. Naruto suddenly seemed like a whole different person…what had once been just a friend had now evolved into an entirely different creature, a magnificently transcendent creature whose beauty couldn't be rivaled by anything else in the entire cosmos. Granted, he'd seen Naruto up close before, but suddenly small, insignificant things he'd never noticed before now stood out clearer than ever, which only served to heighten Naruto's allure.

Naruto's eyes, which were normally a fascinating whirlpool of blue, suddenly seemed to be the most brilliant iridescent gem-cut orbs Neji had ever seen in his life. Come to think of it, they were a completely different shade of color that Neji hadn't seen before, a whirling galaxy of hazy violent-indigo with undertints of azure speckled with bits of gold and the faintest flashes of lavender, looking for all the world like a frothy sea at sunset. The blonde's cheekbones only served to sculpt his face in a way that nearly stopped Neji's heart, and his lips, how his lips were shaped…Neji felt flashes of pleasure dance through his veins, and suddenly he couldn't get enough of the magnificent wisp beneath him.

He lowered his lips to Naruto's once more, and suddenly a very ironic thought flashed through his mind. What had once been a chaste lesson in kissing had now turned into a full-scale cesspool of passion, inflamed desire, and hot, liquid want. Neji smiled briefly as the thought hazily slipped past his mind, then slid his tongue over Naruto's once more, licking and nipping at the blonde's aphrodisiac mouth. Naruto mewled with bliss and responded ardently, his hands stroking the gossamer strands of ebony hair that enveloped the two like a curtain. Neji's own hands had begun to wander, and as they gently sloughed their way down Naruto's body like an artist sculpting his statue, the most wonderful sense of growing connection began to fill in both souls, so much that they felt like they were one mind, one body, one soul, caught up in a time-defying frame of nothingness.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Neji's whole body immediately went stiff. Naruto's own figure snapped rigid in return, and he fluidly slid out from underneath the Hyuuga, the remnants of passion quickly dissipating from his mind. Neji turned his back to Naruto and flicked a swift Byakugan-laced gaze towards the door. Hizashi's broad frame met his gaze, and upon further observation, Neji could see a worried frown upon the older man's harrowed features. Rising from the couch, Neji crossed to the door, aware that Naruto had quietly slipped from the couch to the other room.

"Hizashi-san?" He inquired upon meeting the man.

"Neji." Hizashi nodded gravely. Vague curiosity briefly flickered across Neji's countenance.

"You inquire of me?" He asked. Hizashi nodded again, and to Neji's utter surprise, the man managed a rather weak, awkward smile.

"How are things going at school? Is everything okay?" He asked. Neji drew back, suddenly apprehensive.

"Why?" Hizashi shrugged.

"Since I'm your mentor, per se, I guess it's just my instincts…" He said a bit gauchely. Neji relaxed, but only slightly. If Hizashi had come here just for some light conversation, things must have gone awry indeed. Still, he opted to answer truthfully. Fake or no fake, at least Hizashi made some effort to show that he cared.

Slender fingers grasped the sleek mahogany doorframe of Neji's bedroom as Naruto peered out from behind the wall. Neji looked completely normal as he conversed with his visitor, which was rather unnerving given the erstwhile events that had taken place, but after factoring in Neji's absolutely unmatched flexibility of outward show of emotion, Naruto found out that it rather did suit the circumstances. But yet…slim fingers ran themselves lightly over his lips as gilded brows narrowed in deep thought. He wasn't sure that neither Neji nor he had completely understood everything that happened earlier, but he placed complete trust in the small, intuitive feeling that told him that Neji hadn't felt _nothing._ He'd definitely felt something, that much Naruto knew, and it somewhat consolidated him to know that there was a sliver of a chance that Neji might consider him as something more than a friend.

Something silken brushed his arm and he nearly jumped in alarm. Looking down, he discovered a delicate, long, fragile thread of black snagged in the wedge of one slightly jagged fingernail. Naruto carefully closed a thumb and long forefinger over the strand of midnight, carefully unsnarling it from the serrated terrain of his nail. One flicker of a glance told him that Neji's hair had somehow gotten snared in his nail. He held it up to the light, marveling in the way that it floated and hung almost lazily from his hand, gyrating gently as a nonexistent breeze threaded through its length. Seized with a rather childish impulse, Naruto carefully wound the thread of silken hair around his middle finger, winding it around the digit until it formed a circlet of black around his finger. He smiled with the faint memories it enticed, from the time where Neji had unashamedly confessed his attraction to the blonde at the ramen store to their slackened, sleek limbs entwined on the couch.

In his most crucial moments, he'd keep it in mind.

_WARNING_

_To: QPC_

_From: SRN_

_Subject: Emotional status_

_Sir,_

_Subject has shown severe attraction to target. Urgent permission required for immediate release of drug._

_Memo_

_To: SRN_

_From: QPC_

_Subject: Re: Emotional status_

_Permission granted._


	11. Unexpected Flux

Waaaaaaaaah...only five reviews for the last chappie...and that was with all the smut too...(sobs)

Chapter 11: Unexpected Flux

* * *

The Next Day

It was highly aberrant of him to be slinking around the University like a criminal escapee. Even he admitted to himself that slithering around the grounds was NOT the way to avoid attention given that strange behavior did the exact opposite. Nevertheless, he slithered anyway, slinking over to where he expected his target to be located. Clear sapphire eyes narrowed in concentration as his target came into view.

There he was. Neji was descending the stairs of the Science building in all of his glorious majestic magnificence. His clothes rippled with the passing breeze and clung to his body, accenting the slim, slender waist and the chiseled torso. Naruto almost swallowed his tongue with the urge to run to him, but something told him to wait, and it was more than once that this something had saved him. He silently counted to ten, and right on cue, a girl with twin buns upon her head appeared at Neji's side, chatting amiably with the Hyuuga. The pang of jealousy that struck a cacophonous chord in his heart was to be expected; nevertheless, Naruto resisted the urge to rip her throat to shreds. For the time being.

"Neji-kun, shall we eat in the cafeteria today?" The words were faint from such a distance, but Naruto heard them all the same. The blonde scoffed and spat briefly on the ground. The girl needed a good, hefty pint of iodine shoved down her thyroid gland, if anything else.

"I prefer the shade of those trees…" Neji responded. A thought flashed across Naruto's mind, and suddenly the prospect of Neji eating lunch under "those trees" seemed like a very good idea indeed. He sent mental thought waves towards the Hyuuga, begging him to further insist.

"That's fine with me." Tenten replied. Naruto pumped a fist in the air. Things were going well. He watched in glee as Neji looked around, brushing hair out of his face with an irritable flick of his wrist.

"Should we not wait for Naruto-kun?"

Naruto felt his knees suddenly pack their bags and leave on a permanent vacation. Neji had just called him Naruto-KUN….ohhhh, victory was indeed quite delectable. Unfortunately, victory had also left him someone incapacitated, seeing that his legs had been reduced to near puddles of flesh at the sweet mention of the aforementioned reference. Things were indeed going well. Very much so, in fact.

"He said he had something to do. Anyhow, I made lunch for you today, Neji-kun." Tenten's sugary voice floated on the breeze.

Scratch that last thought. Still…there were ample opportunities ripe for the plucking…Naruto quickly dove into the crowd, artfully interweaving between people until he safely spotted Neji's back. Pressing himself to the roughened bole of the pine tree in front of him, he settled for observing everything from behind the fir, which gave him a safe haven about three feet away from the Hyuuga and his brunette companion. A secret smile spread across his face as the familiar tingle of anticipation and suspense waltzed a salsa down his spine, sending chills sizzling across his skin with the delicious feel of trepidation. He lived for moments like these.

It suddenly occurred to him that there was a lot more foliage in the higher parts of the tree. He looped a hand around the nearest branch, leaping lightly up to land, then swung himself catlike up once more, deftly manipulating his body until he teetered precariously on a slender branch directly above where Neji and Tenten sat. On an impulse, he bounced on the limb, a foolish grin stretched goofily on his face. How he loved moments like these, moments where the knowledge that he was actually risking his life for some wildly irrational whim sent a sweet, satisfying surge of sheer sensation through his body. Perhaps it was part of the reason why he made so many enemies. And then again—and at this, his mood flickered ever so slightly—most of said foes had a most unreasonable motive for hating him.

A sudden surge of serenity washed over him as he stood erect on the limb. Naruto tilted his head to the universe and inhaled a deep breath of fresh, pure, clean air laced with the heady scent of soft resin. Never before had he felt so free, so at peace with the world. He had to admit, he rather pitied those on the ground; this was the closest thing one could get to flying, and if this was what flying felt like, he'd spend the rest of his life soaring in the clouds without a care in the world. Azure eyes paid homage to the sky, and Naruto let out a sigh of exhilaration, tilting his head back all the way so his throat was exposed to the heavens. A breeze caressed his slim, slight body, and he stood there, bared naked in all the splendid magnificence of nature. It was at times like these when life itself seemed almost within comprehension.

The mellow lilt of voices from below escorted the moment away, and once again the feeling of luscious anticipation dripped through his veins.

Naruto edged out so he stood poised like a dancer on the very tip of the branch. He balanced his weight with immaculate precision, tucking one foot under his rump so that he stood like a flamingo on the slender end of the limb. The branch creaked precariously, but Naruto had judged well and it held his weight with a latent strength that the blonde had coaxed from it with his weight placement. Rocking up and down in an almost pendulum-like motion, Naruto balanced perilously on tiptoe and leaned down, the crown of Neji's head straight in the line of his sight. He could see Tenten's twin-bunned hairstyle bobbing next to the Hyuuga. The girl appeared to be rummaging around in her bag, finally extracting a small, carefully-wrapped parcel swathed in a turquoise-white striped cloth. She shyly extended it to Neji, who, after a moment's hesitation, took it gingerly and unwrapped it.

"Do you like it?" Naruto managed not to wince. Tenten's voice was disgustingly shy.

"I…well, thank you very much." Neji's honey-smooth baritone replied.

The branch quivered more agitatedly as Naruto's steady rocking motion increased with his level of irritation. He scoffed at the ridiculously typical meal. How very predictable; a meal of love from the one doing the wooing. For a brief moment he considered spitting a thin stream of saliva into the food; after all, he was extremely high up in the tree, well-covered by the lower forest-green pine needles which protected him from detection yet gave him a fine view of his target. It'd serve Tenten right when Neji complained of the dour taste…

The thought was banished even as Neji lifted a morsel to his mouth. Naruto bounced on the branch more restlessly than ever, ignoring the threatening complaints from the limb as Neji slowly chewed.

"It's delicious, Tenten. Thank you." His voice was spiked through with satisfaction and admiration.

CRACK

The limb, thoroughly tired of the constant pressure, promptly decided on retribution and snapped, sending Naruto crashing down through the needles. A white-fingered hand reached out and barely managed to close over a subsequent branch; Naruto swung crazily as the other hand flailed, finally managing to come in contact with the sticky bole of the pine. The excess resin on his fingers made his grip a trifle easier, which completely staved his fall. Naruto immediately clung like a limpet to the sticky-sweet trunk of the tree, a soppy smile strapped crookedly onto his face. That was definitely fun. Most deliciously dangerous, really. If he hadn't been in danger of being discovered, he'd want to do it again.

"Tenten…did you put salt into this?" Neji's voice floated from below.

"Salt? No. Does it taste salty?" Tenten's voice immediately followed.

No sooner were the words out of her mouth then a sick, ice-cold feeling of dread seeped through Naruto's skin, curling around his entrails, sucking hungrily at his heart. A memory nudged at his subconscious and he brought a hand to his head, his breath suddenly coming in sharp, shallow sips of air. Those words sounded almost too familiar. The memory's probing was now urgent, desperate and demanding, delving into his brain like a stiletto into flesh. A slide-show began in his head, visions delivering quick, stabbing blows to his eyes, sending horrific detail into his mind, though everything was oddly blurred.

_Get away from me, you monster!_

_Wh…why? I thought…I thought we were…_

_I don't know you! I've never seen you before! Get away from me!_

Suddenly everything seemed off. The world seemed to warp before his mind and he nearly staggered off of the branch he was standing on. The salt…the salt…the salt the salt the salt the saltthesaltthesaltthesaltthesaltthesaltthesaltthesaltthesaltohdeargodtheSALT…

He wanted to cry, to run, to do anything, _anything_ in his power to stop the horrible, horrible thing from happening though he knew not what exactly _was_ about to happen, but it was too late, it was too too too too too late, it was too laaaaaaaaatttteeeeeee……

Neji swallowed, his throat pulsing as the food went down his throat.

His heart stopped dead and Naruto fell from the tree, his body plummeting down to the yawning ground before him.

_Nnnnh…_

"…ruto?"

_What…happened?_

"…aruto?"

_Why do I suddenly feel like I've drowned in a pool of blood?_

"Naruto!"

He sat up with a jerk, eyes snapping wide open, every nerve stretched taut with alarm. The room blurred, spun, then slowed down to a stop, eventually clearing out. A mass of brown slowly outlined before his vision until he looked into worried eyes of Iruka. The man lifted a hand and placed his cool fingers upon Naruto's feverish forehead, brow creased in worry.

"Thank god you're awake." Blatant relief shimmered in his voice. Naruto made a few attempts to answer back, only to find that his voice had been reduced to nothing but a few hoarse gurgles. Iruka handed him a glass of water which he swallowed gratefully.

"What happened?"

"Apparently a couple of students found you lying comatose at the bottom of a tree." Iruka said chidingly. "And after all those warnings I gave you about climbing trees…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

Naruto blinked. He, Uzumaki Naruto, had fallen off of a tree? Hell MUST have frozen over. That was almost as plausible as Jiraiya-sensei admitting he was gay.

"Seriously?" A vein popped in Iruka's head.

"Can't you ever NOT take anything lightly, Naruto? Yes, apparently you did fall off of a tree since you were found covered in pine needles and branches and your hands were sticky with resin! Unless you want to admit that you tripped over your own feet!" He said scathingly. Given the choice between falling off a tree and tripping over his own feet, Naruto would have chosen the former without even blinking.

"Okay, so I fell off a tree. So where am I now?" He said, looking at the sparsely-furnished room.

"The hospital."

"WHAAAAAAT?"

"You were un-con-scious, Naruto, and people are usually shipped off to the hospital when they're found comatose on the ground." Iruka explained with an air of chastising frustration.

"But you didn't have to do that! The doctors could have cut me up with those nasty little scalpel-knife-blade thingies!" The blonde whined. Iruka grimaced.

"Now why would they do that?"

"Because they hate me! I'm a regular patient here!" Naruto shot back.

"And the more patients they get, the more money they make. Now lie down and shut up. You still need to heal." Iruka retaliated.

"No I don't."

To Iruka's surprise, Naruto smiled wanly and held out a forearm, exposing the pristine, creamy flesh. What scrapes he'd sustained from the tree had completely vanished, leaving smooth, unblemished skin. Iruka's lips tilted up in a forlorn smile as he reached out and lightly brushed the pads of his fingers across the milky-white paleness of Naruto's arm.

"Both a blessing and a curse, isn't it?" He murmured wryly. Naruto's gaze swept to the coverlets.

"I'll survive." Resignation shimmered naked in his sapphire eyes. "Now let's get out of here. I want to check on something." He stood, and in one fluid motion, hopped lightly onto the window sill. Iruka looked scandalized.

"Naruto, can't you take the front door like every other normal human being?" He was rewarded by the toothiest cheek-stretching grin Naruto had ever exhibited. The resemblance to a Cheshire cat was freakishly accurate.

"I'm not exactly normal, remember? Besides, the doctors out there wouldn't let me out if I did go the 'normal' way. Come on." Iruka yelped as Naruto hauled him up by an arm and jumped out the window.

"NarutoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….."

"Jeez, Iruka-sensei, that landing was so horrible!"

"YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME MUCH CHOICE!"

"So? You're an adult, which means you should have better coordination than me."

"THAT ONLY MEANS I'M HEAVIER!"

"Hence the better coordination."

What moments of erstwhile desolation now vanished as the two walked down the street, bickering playfully.

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Uhm...review please? 


	12. Things Gone Wrong

Oooooooo, another chappie...review onegai! (laughs)

Chapter 12: Things Gone Wrong

Semaruku Apartment Complex

It MUST have been something in the food he'd eaten earlier. The room did a corkscrew in front of his eyes and he lurched to the side, hanging on to the wall for dear life. Neji fluttered his eyelashes in a feeble attempt to clear his muddled head, but to no avail; the room flipped upside-down and seemed to mock him with an air of derision. He slid further down the wall and closed his eyes, sending black and pink spots dancing across his vision. Whatever he'd eaten, by the gods it was destroying him from the inside out.

Fingers scrabbled and skittered across the coffee table, found a small, silver spoon, and closed around the utensil. With a greatly labored effort, Neji stabilized his mental sanity just enough to get to the bathroom, though something had apparently gone severely wrong with his balance. He leaned over to the toilet, managed to shove the spoon down his throat, and gave it a mighty jerk, which only served to churn the contents of his stomach, leaving him weak and sucking in huge gulps of air. He retched, hawked, and spat, but the food stayed stubbornly into his stomach, leaving him feeling queasier than ever. Neji slid limply off of the rim of the bowl, leaning heavily on his elbows on the smooth, cool linoleum of the bathroom floor.

Three grenades exploded with large, successive bangs at his feet and he jerked backwards, backpedaling on his wrists.

It suddenly occurred to him that the bombs might have been someone knocking on the front door. Cursing himself and his distorted mind for mistaking such a sound for something so ludicrous, Neji crawled to the bathroom door, turned it, and staggered out of the bathroom like some sort of maladjusted drunk. The room did the tango in front of his purple-spotted vision as he wobbled to the front door. Halfway across the room, the Hyuuga tilted and fell, just managing to snag the doorknob with the tips of his fingers. He pulled and the door gave way, swinging open, which, unfortunately, took him with it in the process.

Naruto's face swam in and out of his erratically blurring vision. The blonde looked murderous, or at least he seemed that way; Neji couldn't tell, since there were suddenly four Narutos dancing spasmodically in front of his sporadically blinking vision. He tried to speak, but what came out of his mouth was nothing more than a slurred gargle.

"Na…Naruto….what are…you doing…here?" The words had barely made it out of his mouth when a distant roaring began in his ears. Dimly he heard Naruto's voice cry his name, but he didn't think he could trust himself; the blonde's voice sounded more like a scratched disk than anything else.

The cacophony in his ears decided to peak in its volume, which sent him spinning off the cliff into the yawning darkness below.

Naruto watched in horror as Neji collapsed on the floor, his limbs sprawled haphazardly over the cream-colored carpet. He uttered a sort of muted, choked cry, and in less than a second the blonde was by his side, kneeling gently as he tended to the Hyuuga. What had taken place so many times before now reversed itself, and suddenly Naruto was the one cradling Neji's flaccid form. Once clear, azure eyes were now clouded over with storm clouds and fury.

"Neji…Neji, what has she done to you…."

He bent and tenderly brushed his mouth across Neji's forehead, gently nuzzling the smooth, glossy wisps of black that floated across the Hyuuga's brow.

The door burst open with a thunderous bang, and a tall man stood in the doorway, eyes frantic with alarm.

"Neji! Neji, are you—"

Pearl eyes lit on Naruto's kneeling form, then widened in shock. Hizashi's opalescent orbs traveled with maddening slowness over Neji's comatose form, sprawled so lifelessly in Naruto's arms. The older man gritted his teeth, eyes livid with fury.

"What have you done to him?" Naruto stood, Neji's body still enfolded in his arms. He spoke with a measuring, powerful calm that seemed to magnify the imposing aura that flowed about him in waves.

"This was not my doing. I just found him here on the floor." He turned and walked to the window with a slow, commanding stride.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to." He murmured, then soared catlike out the window with a burst of brilliant scarlet. Hizashi blinked in amazement, his mouth slack with astonishment.

"He can control it…"

"_He seems fine…I don't believe there's anything wrong with him…"_

_The doctor pushed his glasses up his nose and made a small tick on his chart, then ran a hand through his grayish-white hair._

"_He'll need plenty of rest, since he's still quite weak; I think it's best to keep him in here for the time being." He said gravely. The man opposite him gave a short inclination of his head._

"_Thank you, Kabuto-san." A small, graceful smile slid across the good doctor's face._

"_You are most welcome, Hiashi-sama." He bowed, then quietly slid open the door open just enough to fit his lanky frame, leaking out of the room like water out of a cracked jug._

_The pleasant look of formality abruptly slid off Hiashi's face and shattered like glass on the floor the very minute Kabuto's presence had disappeared. Hizashi's stern countenance portrayed severe agitation as he paced restlessly to and fro in front of Neji's bed, his hair rustling distractedly in front of his face. Curse it…he had no idea the drug Neji had ingested had done so much damage. Granted, it was a trifle potent, but Neji, being beyond perfection, should have withstood the side effects. He allowed himself to think about the numerous possibilities though…perhaps something the girl cooked caused a chemical change in the drug, or perhaps, Hiashi thought with a wry sense of unwonted humor, the girl's cooking was just plain ghastly._

_There was a noise behind him, and Hiashi swept a piercing glance at the newcomer. _

_Tenten stood tall, meeting his gaze with a powerfully unwavering glare of her own. Without a trace of fear she walked up to the man, stopping two feet away from where he sat. The two exchanged stares, Tenten's dark, walnut eyes steadily handling Hiashi's white-frothed glower with a quiet, calm control. The tension seemed to escalate almost to the point where it hurt to breathe, but then the girl sank into a bow and the silence disappeared._

"_I have done as you requested; however, I did not know the consequences would be so great." Her speech had gone from the flimsy, flippant average dialect to a complicated series of words. A ghost of a smile flickered across the other's face._

"_Do not trouble yourself. The antidote will work in time." He said stiffly. _

_Tenten executed a short nod, then walked over to where Neji noiselessly slept. A hand reached out and hovered like a breeze over his forehead, then floated almost lazily downwards to stroke his smooth cheek. Tenten ran the pads of her fingertips slowly back and forth across Neji's left cheekbone, a sickening parody of a steel-saccharine smile slithering like a serpent across her face, contorting it to the point where she looked like a tigress lusting for the blood of her prey. Umber eyes glittered with an odd combination of spiteful malice and longing as she brushed fingers over his lips._

"_When you are through with him…would it trouble you if you could give him to me?" Each word bore a thrumming chord of calm, fatal madness. Though never would he admit it, Hiashi felt a phantom feeling of foreboding._

"_We shall see what condition he's in after I'm through with him."_

How like Naruto. How so very like Naruto to dump half the ocean's share of frigid, icy water right smack on his face. Neji sputtered and gasped and nearly had a coronary as he felt the frosty liquid splash rudely onto his face. He sat up, wished he hadn't, suppressed a yelp of pain, and lay back down on the sopping wet pillow, a scowl pasted on his features. Naruto just laughed and set down the pitcher of water, neatly dodging the half-hearted blow Neji sent to his head. The Hyuuga exhaled a harsh breath of exasperation then turned to face the blonde with a chagrined, scandalized look on his countenance. Naruto faked a lovely, beautiful expression, which, ironically, only served to form a huge, comfortably uncomfortable knot in Neji's general abdominal cavity.

"You've been sleeping for three days now. It's high time you woke up." He said chidingly. Neji stifled a groan.

"You could have woken me up like any other normal person." To his faint surprise, Naruto actually laughed.

"I could have, yes. But then again, I could have done a lot of things in my life."

He kept on talking, but Neji suddenly lost interest, for something very weird was going on in his head. The room seemed to contract, and a blinding flash of white seared across his memory. The boy sitting on his bed….the boy…what was his name again?

Naruto, deliberately oblivious to his surroundings, kept on blithely chattering away until Neji uttered the four small words that nearly stopped his heart and sent him reeling into the yawning depths of hopelessness that cried for his blood.

"What is your name?"

It shocked him. Killed him. Flayed him alive, tacked his skin to a bed of staples. Hyuuga Neji, his best friend, his one and only confidant in the world who knew more about him than he did had just asked what his name was. He tried to shake off the massive feeling of foreboding, tried to assume it was all due to the fact that Neji had fainted dead away in the middle of his apartment, but then he remembered the cause of the fainting and nearly passed out himself right then and there on the bed. When he spoke, the voice that slid out of his mouth didn't sound like him at all. In fact, it didn't even sound human. He turned and faced Neji with sheer terror in his eyes.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Please oh please oh please oh PLEASE let it be just a common mistake…

But no. It was not to be.

Neji repeated his question.

Ironically, as he mouthed out a feeble "Uzumaki Naruto", the only coherent thing that ran through his head was that Lady Luck wasn't lusting after his ass anymore. In fact, the buxom blonde herself was now lusting after his blood. And it wouldn't feel good after she was through with him. It certainly would not feel an ounce like a walk in the park.

"Uzumaki Naruto….oh yes, Naruto! Can you believe it? I actually forgot your name for a second." Neji laughed lightly, smiling as if the error were highly amusing as he lay back among the sheets. A loud, roaring silence noisily resonated from Naruto's thin frame.

"Naruto? Are you okay?"

The blonde turned to face him, and in that very instance, he was hit by the full power of Naruto's sky-chiseled eyes. Those eyes were marked through and through with despair, anguish, and desolation, twin orbs that reflected the galaxies and the moons, stars, suns, and celestial bodies in all of their fiery, magnificent despondency.

"Neji." The word slipped out almost involuntarily out of Naruto's immobile lips, a wisp of sound that silently dissipated like a silver thread in the air.

"Naruto?" Neji's eyes were narrow, shot through with concern.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go…" The blonde abruptly stood and fluidly slid out of the room, leaving the Hyuuga behind with a most perplexed expression on his face.

_Naruto?_


	13. Slipping Control

Chapter 13: Slipping Control

* * *

The slim, lanky, ponytailed man sighed and neatly folded his clothes, laying them trimly on a nearby table. Iruka pulled off his shirt and stretched, a smile flickering across his face as his back executed a stunning display of cracks and pops. His spine, being nice for once, cricked easily back into place, and Iruka exhaled a breath of relief. A knock at his door sent him walking across the room, wondering why in all the seven point five hells was it that someone wanted him in the wee hours of the morn.

No sooner had his fingers turned the doorknob than the door was ripped clear off its hinges and sent flying in splinters to the other room, an innocent victim of the blonde disaster that practically emblazoned Iruka's silhouette into the wooden floor beneath him.

"EE-ROO-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA….."

Naruto plowed across the floor and buried his face into the startled man's stomach, latching on like a limpet to his waist. Iruka stumbled backwards, tripped over the coffee table, and landed with a rather loud thump on the sofa with a loud "oof". He looked down and smiled wryly as the blonde nest of spikes dug persistently into his stomach as Naruto sobbed his heart out on his shirt. Already the brunette could feel the warm tears soak through the fabric. Iruka lifted a hand and ran it gently through Naruto's heaven-gilded locks, soothing him with whispered reassurances.

"Now now, Naruto, is something the matter?" A hiccough was heard from somewhere around his navel, and the yellow-white crow's nest bobbed up and down before doggedly pressing into his stomach again. Iruka gulped, then tried again, his tone a tad cautious.

"Does it have something to do with….Neji?"

He caught a brief flash of a tear-streaked bewhiskered face as Naruto howled out his grievances to the sky, and the next moment he knew, he'd been flung flat on the couch as the blonde migrated to his shoulder, soaking another portion of his clothing. Iruka sighed. At the rate he was going, he wouldn't have to shower for three full days.

"Okay…so, is that a 'yes, it does have something to do with Neji'?" He carefully picked out.

Naruto positively ripped out his vocal cords with an ear-shattering "YES!" before bawling louder than ever into Iruka's other shoulder. Iruka gently disengaged himself of the blonde's iron-clad embrace, smiling sadly into Naruto's tear-stained face. Using what was left of his drenched shirt, he carefully wiped the tears leaking down the blonde's face.

"There now, Naruto, it can't be all that—"

"DON'T YOU SAY IT!" Naruto squawked, eyes puffed up and livid. Iruka took a deep, calming breath as the blonde dissolved into a fresh torrent of tears.

"Uhm…Naruto…would it hassle you to tell me what happened?" He said softly. Naruto hiccupped, sniffled, and messily wiped his face on his arm before giving Iruka a lip-shaking dewy-eyed look of despondency.

"Please, Naruto?" Iruka prodded. "Maybe I could help." Naruto took a deep, shuddering breath, almost as if he were sucking in all the air that filled with world.

"IfoundNejiontheflooryesterdayandtodayhe'sinthehospitalandandandhedoesn'tremembermynameandthat'sverybadbecausebecausebecausethatmeanshe'sforgettingmeandI'mhisbestfrieeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnDDDDDDDDD!" He wailed, then proceeded to soak the wearied Iruka's couch.

"Naruto…are you in love with Neji?"

Naruto sat up and nearly swallowed his tongue as he fixed wide, aghast eyes onto Iruka's own almond ones. Iruka's lips twitched at the sight of the blonde's flabbergasted expression, forever magnified by his wide, shimmering eyes.

"How the…what the…no I'm n—….b-but….I….I-I…I am?" How completely and utterly satirical that he was now stuttering and shaking over a candid statement of the obvious (coming from Iruka too, the man whose staidness was unrivaled in all of Japan). And to make matters worse, the stupid sensei had a devious smirk engraved all over his young, sculpted features.

"Am I really that obvious?" Naruto asked weakly. Iruka calmly inspected his fingernails.

"Is that a confession?" He quipped nonchalantly, earning the promised yelp from the blonde before him. Naruto flailed his arms wildly.

"Bu-bu-but….w-wait…how….who….wha?" He choked out. Iruka's grin was practically reeking of wickedness.

"Well, you are bawling like a heartbroken beauty over someone recently lost." He said mildly.

"Th-that's just NORMAL BEHAVIOR!" Naruto shrieked in a voice five octaves too high. Iruka delicately inserted a slim finger into his ear and twisted.

"Well then, I suppose it was a lucky guess."

"_Iiiirrrruuuuuuukkkkkkkaaaaaa…_" Naruto looked ready to commit bloody fratricide.

"Fine, fine…I know because I've seen you with him numerous times, and the look in your eyes when you're beside him…" Iruka trailed off wistfully, then sighed.

"Well…it's like you're a whole different person. You're yourself around him, you know, even more so than when you are with me." He whispered faintly. After a long, pregnant pause, Naruto dared to venture.

"So then….you're not…disgusted at me for being gay?" He asked timidly. To his surprise, Iruka actually laughed.

"I don't give a damn. After all, since you have that thing locked up inside of you, one wouldn't expect anything else to be normal about you either." He said fondly, playfully rumpling Naruto's tresses. "I mean that in a good way," he added quickly as the blonde shot him a glower.

"Thanks, Iruka…." Naruto said warmly, then reached over and wrapped his arms around the ponytailed man. Iruka rested his chin atop the nest of thread-spun bronze, then leaned down to brush his lips across Naruto's ear.

"And personally…" he whispered with a hint of devilry, "I think you should go for him. After all, given the way that the girl Tenten looks at him, I'd say you have fair competition." Naruto recoiled, looking scandalized.

"_Iruka!"_

"Just kidding, just kidding…" The teacher flapped a hand at the blonde, smiling mischievously. Naruto exhaled.

"Jeez, Iruka, I never knew you had it in you…" At this, the man cocked his head to the side, a smirk on his countenance.

"And after all the years you've known me too…so utterly unobservant some of us are…" He was met by a pillow to the head as Naruto pounced, and the two wrestled playfully on the couch, former worries momentarily forgotten.

The Next Day

A wind blew through the trees, threading through wheat-gilded hair with a mournful cry as it rustled onwards towards the trees. What had occurred not so very long ago now repeated itself, and the dawn found a lone figure poised serenely atop one of the tallest branches of a nearby fir. Naruto lowered his sun-gilded lashes to half-mast as a slow wisp of air slipped out from between his parted lips. Knowing what had to be done, the blonde closed his eyes, letting just a ghost of a smile tenderly kiss his mouth.

In one fluid motion, he edged closer to the branch and silently slipped off the edge.

Plummeting downward, Naruto tilted up his head, and for a split second, reveled in the feel of the silken air streamlining down his body. He shot down like a needle, stiff as a railspike to meet the beckoning ground beneath him…and at the very last moment, he summoned all the latent power that slept inside of him and expelled a powerful blast of veiled crimson that resounded soundlessly across the whole of the earth. From all over the land, the calling summoned and pulled, pleading, cajoling for help until the sleeping figures awoke and started to come, to gather, to assemble in one enormous congregation. Naruto smiled wanly, then silently melted into the air in a flicker of scarlet.

Somewhere

He touched a hand to his head, puzzled beyond all means of comprehension. Just now…he felt something scour the earth. It wasn't anything remotely evident…in fact, it was quite infinitesimal really, and he highly suspected he only noticed it because the air gave off the barest shift of ambiance about three-odd seconds past. Tenten certainly hadn't noticed it; she kept humming her strange tuneless song, completely oblivious to what had passed. Neji's alabaster hand drew downwards just enough to let the long, slender fingers touch his lips in deep thought. That ripple…something about it…no, something about its _origin_…why did it suddenly seem so familiar?

"Neji?" Tenten's soft voice gently pulled the Hyuuga from his thoughts.

"Yes?" He responded absently, twirling a rogue piece of hair between his fingers. With a wry smile, Tenten plucked the strand of black from his hand and began stroking it herself.

"Is anything wrong?" She prodded.

Neji shook his head, suddenly very interested in the hand that was now playing idly with his strand of hair. Tenten…it seemed like she wasn't doing anything wrong, playing innocently with his hair like that…in fact, he hadn't a clue what was wrong with him, but he suddenly felt severely violated knowing that a strand of his hair was currently in Tenten's grasp. A blinding surge of panic suddenly seared across his vision and he jerked viciously away from the brunette.

"_Don't touch me!_"

Tenten recoiled and drew back, eyes terse with sudden confusion. Neji slowly eased his breathing back to normal, though the thoughts in his head were anything but organized. Little scraps of memories began flashing through his brain, snippets of this, shreds of that, and really, they made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but when the bewildered Hyuuga put them all together, they created a vivid picture of a certain sapphire-eyed blonde…

With a great, painful effort, Neji wrenched his eyes closed and concentrated, feeling the first fragments of fear creep upon his brain. The image was fading rapidly now, and suddenly it was the most essential thing in the world that he remember just _who_ that image had portrayed. The answer, he knew, was quite simple; it should have been a second nature to him, but for some strange, inexplicable reason, his brain wouldn't allow him the clemency of remembering…

The vision shattered and died, but in the split second before it did, Neji saw a single tear start to form at the enigma's eye.

"_Neji!"_

He felt the slap before he saw it, and the next moment, his head had been jerked to the side, his cheek was stinging with the most excruciating pain, and Tenten was bent over his prone figure with a troubled look gleaming in her chocolate eyes. She laid a cool hand across the bridge of his brow.

"Are you okay?"

He suddenly found it very hard to breathe. Something was going on in his body…something drastic, something dire, and something very, very wrong. He could almost feel every nerve skip and sputter, every organ malfunction and break down. The Hyuuga reeled backwards, collapsing hard against the wall, hands clutching hopelessly at his head in agony. He was dimly aware of Tenten's cry of horror before his vision fizzed, blurred, and went dark.

* * *

Review onegai! I didn't get that many last time...TT 


	14. Sudden Death

Ai, ai, ai, my poor Naruto...what will happen to you?

Chapter 14: Sudden Death

The Next Day

Eyes flashed with a steel-clad gleam of defiance as Naruto rolled up his sleeves and stomped determinedly into the university with an attitude of Neji-or-bust pasted across his face. The blonde ferreted across half the campus until finally, _finally_ his target loomed into sight. Naruto deftly slipped behind a nearby tree and peered out suspiciously at the back of Neji's head. Sure enough, the telltale twin buns were bobbing beside the Hyuuga, and Tenten's overly fake, cheerful voice could be heard wafting on the wind. Naruto nearly gagged.

It suddenly appeared to him that Neji wasn't acting normally. Granted, after the apartment incident followed by the memory crisis, he'd hardly expect Neji to be normal, but now it seemed that the Hyuuga was a whole different person. Neji's back was unusually stiff, his arms were down at his sides in a rather uptight position, and his fists were clenched. His gait had also changed; Naruto could see him taking short, choppy steps instead of his normally fluid, striding pace.

He was never one to think things out carefully, mostly being one to improvise on the spot. He'd always deemed it a rather beneficial skill, as it had saved his sorry ass one time too many, and he suspected—or at least hoped—it would again save his sorry ass from whatever complications he would experience in the next three to four minutes. Popping out from behind the tree, Naruto took a deep breath and bee-lined his way towards Neji, taking extra care to make a lot of noise as was his usual fashion; after all, he didn't want Neji to think anything was wrong.

"NEJI! How are you this—"

He was cut off abruptly by an iron-clad grasp upon his throat. Stunned to the core, Naruto swept shell-shocked eyes over Neji's rigid form. Liquid black flowed over the Hyuuga's eyes, shading it from view as the alabaster hand gripping the blonde's throat slowly tightened its grip. Neji's normally serene aura seemed to shift and change to an alien, icy demeanor which wrapped itself around Naruto and sucked the warmth from his body. Naruto choked and gasped, clawing futilely at the hand that drew his life, but Neji paid no heed to the gashes embedded in his skin and continued to squeeze, nearly crushing the blonde's windpipe. Naruto inhaled in a feeble breath.

"Neji…what…why…."

His throat was spared destruction as Neji propelled him backwards with a violent shove. Naruto landed unceremoniously on the ground and lay there in a heap at the Hyuuga's feet. He struggled and sat up, only to be pushed back down with a foot upon his ribs. Neji's mouth curled into a sibilant snarl as he pressed down upon the blonde's chest.

"Why are you…doing this?" Naruto managed to choke out, sky-chipped eyes clouded with confusion and hurt. Neji's mouth warped crazily as he answered.

"_You're a despicable eyesore. You don't deserve to live."_ There was a dull cracking sound and Naruto cried out as a sharp, stinging pain exploded in the region of his torso. He looked up as tears clouded his vision at Neji's cruel form.

"You…"

"_SHUT UP!"_ The words ripped a gaping slash right through Naruto's heart, and that itself seemed fourfold more painful than the aching throb of his broken ribs. Neji shook his hair out of his eyes, and Naruto gasped in horror at the sight before him.

Neji's eyes, once a pure, mystical shade of pearly white now bore a distinct shade of dull brownish-red.

"Neji…" The foot came down cruelly on his mouth, stifling his words. Neji cocked his head to the side, smiling fanatically.

"_Would you like your mouth to suffer too, bitch?"_

Naruto twisted out from under Neji's foot and recoiled backwards, regaining his footing. Pain-shot eyes roved over the Hyuuga's tall body, then suddenly focused on Neji's hand, which was wrapped around Tenten's waist. The girl herself had a most disturbing look on her face as she spoke.

"Your words won't reach him now. He's mine, mine to do with…as I please." She turned and fixed Naruto with a sultry, sardonically triumphant glance as she pressed her body against Neji's and trailed her tongue seductively up the side of his cheek. This action more than anything else seemed to slice through Naruto's last ounce of reserve.

"_NO!"_

A sudden explosion rocked the campus, sending a sonic blast reverberating around the face of the earth. Tenten screamed and staggered backwards, Neji still in her grasp. Another blast cut a path just centimeters shy of her body, and the smoke cleared to reveal a magnificent sight of raging magnitude. Naruto stood in the middle of the clearing, engulfed entirely in a raging typhoon of red, swirling power. And yet…it wasn't Naruto…no, the Naruto just moments before had been one of purity and mild joy. This Naruto had a feasible, almost _solid_ thirst for blood.

Fangs had exploded crudely from his gums, sharpened, elongated fangs that dripped with saliva and called for Tenten's flesh. Veins throbbed fat with blood throughout the whole of his body, standing up like ropes under his skin. His hands twitched spasmodically with the desire to tear; foot-long needle-sharp claws had sprouted in place of nails, curving over with a cruel, hooked lust for carnage. His hair had grown longer and more wild, undulating spastically with the wind that the red, swirling substance called from the earth. But all the changes in his body couldn't hope to hold a candle to the changes in his face, which burned brightly with a terrible light that promised suffering and bloodshed.

Naruto's features had changed completely from the pure, gentle countenance to one of crazed intelligence and madness. Three black gashes cruelly marred both cheeks, and his features had become more defined. The black around his eyes had suddenly magnified, amplifying the twin wicked slits that corrupted his darkened, crimson irises. An insane, rhythmic snarling had started low in the back of his throat as Naruto crouched down, every muscle strung to the breaking as he prepared to draw blood.

Tenten uttered a guttural shriek that didn't sound human and scrambled from the terrible vision before her. One hand clamped roughly over Neji's wrist and hauled him haphazardly away from the scene as the girl frantically strove to put as much distance between her and the wraith, but it proved in vain. With a spectacularly malicious burst of crimson-tainted power, Naruto exploded from the ground, leaving a gargantuan, smoking crater, and painted a cruel, circular path around his targets. Tenten screamed in mortal agony as scarlet gashes drew themselves around her arms and down her legs and torso; Neji made a valiant attempt to protect the brunette, but proved to be no match to Naruto, who plunged a hand screaming for blood deep into Tenten's stomach.

Crimson libation exploded out of the girl's innards as Naruto withdrew a blood-soaked hand. Tenten screamed again, a long, loud, howling scream as she clutched a hand to her entrails, which threatened to spill to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she withdrew a small packet of powder which she hurled to the ground, igniting a monstrous explosion. Naruto was thrown backwards and landed harshly on his back, and in that moment of distraction, Tenten melted into the musty vapors of the smoke. The mist cleared, and the grounds were devoid of all life save for one. The blonde bit down on his lip in exasperation. Curse it…the bitch had gotten away….

Not a moment had passed when an unwonted smirk caught the edge of his mouth. He WAS notorious for having a vast knowledge of multiple escape routes, and given the origins of the brunette whore, he had a pretty good idea where she was headed. Black-rimmed eyes flashed with a latent spark of determination. After all…was he not of the same genesis as she? It was _most_ ironic really, but it served as an asset, for after all, at least he knew where to begin his pursuit. And he, unlike her, he thought as he sent out a silent calling that scraped across the earth….

He, unlike her, had reinforcements.

Hiashi looked up, imperial features marring faintly as a thrice-bloodied Tenten staggered in with Neji's dead weight upon her shoulders. Hiashi repressed a grimace; the girl was a mess, with her clothes ripped to shreds, blood flowing freely from multiple injuries and what looked like a gore wound in her stomach. The stench of dried blood was almost overpowering as well; Hiashi's left eyelid executed a slight twitch at the sight of the crimson liquid oozing glutinously onto his normally impeccable floor.

"Clean up and report here in five minutes." His tone was tartly curt, but Tenten knew better than to disobey. She gritted out a pained response, then deposited Neji's comatose form on a nearby table and dragged her pathetic form from the room.

Hiashi rose and crossed to the younger Hyuuga's form, passing a hand over Neji's forehead. Obsidian eyelashes fluttered, and the younger Hyuuga awoke, blinking sporadically to clear his muddled mind. He sat up, then caught sight of Hiashi and abruptly sank to one knee.

"Hiashi-sama." The addressed man inwardly marveled at Neji's consistent show of loyalty.

"Neji."

Neji looked up and affixed his eyes onto Hiashi's own. The older Hyuuga barely managed to conceal his surprise; Neji's eyes were flushed a dull, brown-red and showed no emotion whatsoever. Well had the drug taken effect. Hiashi smiled, a sweetly sibilant smile that didn't seem to align with his features.

"Come. There is much work to be done…"

xXx-----xXx

_He landed catlike on the ground, shoulders hunched in a feral position. There it was; the lake, at the new moon. He slowly uncurled his lean, lanky body, vertebrae by vertebrae, ever so slowly, until he stood erect at the lips of the waters of the lake. Raising one straight, rigid leg with the grace that rivaled a dancer, he pointed his toe and slowly caressed the unbroken surface of the water, drawing in the welcoming coolness up to his chest. With maddening ease, he stepped onto the surface of the water, then slowly brought his other leg to come in contact with the first. And so he walked, with slow, measured steps to the very center of the lake._

_Like a lithe, mystical water faerie, he raised his arms high, stretching them out so that he looked almost feminine. Each finger he straightened, arching his wrists, letting the line of his arm flow down to the tips of each alabaster digit. He tilted his head to the heavens, bathing in the nonexistent moonlight, lashes closed, expression serene as a passing breeze blew through the wheat-bronze gold that encircled his head. His blue-white, weightless, sheer silken robe floated gently around his body as the breeze caressed him as a lover would his partner, slipping in and out of all the forbidden, secret orifices. He raised himself up, balancing elegantly on his toes, then slowly, ever so slowly, brought his hands up to meet directly above his head._

_The stirrings began. At first, the ripples on the lake of deep, black wine were ordinary ripples, created by the wind, but suddenly they changed, becoming agitated, urgent, fearful. The ripples became frantic, and eventually merged into waves, waves with crowns of deep, white-hued pearl which coalesced and combined until the lake had become a raging vortex of turbulent, elegantly violent water. The figure in the very epicenter lifted his arms to the heavens like a great, terrible god, and from the sky descended a white-hot power that engulfed the figure completely in its awesome magnificence. _

_He stood, bathed in his own power, as ribbons of energy encircled his figure. Rotating wildly in the middle of the lake, he grasped the power, tore it to shreds, and mended it, repeating the cycle over and over until he was engulfed in a whirlpool of seething, teeming white. The earth seemed to shake and teeter on its eternal orbit as the power pulsed once, then dimmed into a pulsing, white light that disappeared to sleep inside the figure's chest._

_Then they came._

_They came, all of them, entities of all shapes and sizes. They arose from the earth, from their eons of slumber, and laid down their lives at his feet. They formed ranks around him, the tall, imperial figure, and from all over the earth, from the cold, arctic ice shelves to the fierce, burning deserts, they paid tribute to their leader. And once they were done, they started their terrible, macabre march down to one set destination, to complete the calling for which they had been summoned._

_

* * *

_Haha, cliffie...plz review peoples! Oh, this story might go a bit slower, because I have this great idea for a one-shot SasuNaru (FINALLY! SILVER WRITES SOMETHING OTHER THAN NEJINARU! ) 


	15. Hide and Seek

Sorry for the huge wait for this chapter, mah stoopeed account had an error or something...TT Anyhow, I won't be updating for a week or so, since I'm off to vacation again, so...I'll post when I get back, yes? This is an extra long chappie to keep you going. (loves you all)

Oh yes, and to my faithful reviewers: Heosic-chan, The Procrastinator, Kai's Snowfall, Mydrid Fox, Aliases101, and Weavers, thank you so so so so so so so much for reviewing every single chappie! (cries and wails in gratitude) THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH! (hugs you all) And please forgive me if you are a faithful reviewer and I forgot to list your name...(bows in apology)

Chapter 15: Hide and Seek

He was sleeping, slumbering silently in his room when the first attack came. A guard, drenched in blood, barely retained the breath to tell him that they were under attack before his head was taken by a thin thread of invisibility. Hiashi sat bold upright and nearly slipped on the arterial blood that spurted in torrents from the guard's neck; he donned his robe and rushed out into the hall, headlong into what seemed like a scene from Hell itself. Blood had been spattered onto almost every single piece of furniture and wall, and there were terrible screams and howls of pain, agony, and death as the attackers surged in by waves.

There were foxes.

_Foxes._

_His best guards were battling crazed, maddened animals that suddenly seemed to have taken a mind insane with bloodlust._

He instinctively ducked behind a wall, surveying the scene. Sounds of gore and fighting and madness echoed around the building; a bloodied corpse fell at his feet, locked in paroxysms of death. The crazed animals surged through every opening available; people were falling by the dozens. And the thing that slew his mind, drove him to the point of insanity: _not one fox had been killed by the opposite side._

It must have been an otherworldly power derived straight from hell. The animals received wounds, but yet they did not. They simply…_bent_, for lack of a better word, to the weapons of their foes and didn't sustain a single scratch. Hiashi looked around, eyes wild. He could dimly see Neji battling a monstrous vixen, Tenten running from a maddened dog…

And then he came.

There was a powerful blast, and the whole ceiling was instantly ripped away. A terrible red glow seared his eyes, forcing him to squint, and through the slits of his eyes, he witnessed a fox, a serene, imposing, majestic fire fox that encompassed him in its magnificent aura. And perched atop the fox, in billowing robes of evanescent white….

_He was born. He was shunned. He will seek his revenge._

Hiashi screamed and reeled backwards from the vision. No….no….it could not be….but it was real, all too real, and it was here to destroy him. He could recognize the all-too-familiar features, the three slashes adorning each cheek, the fangs, the red-rimmed mouth twisted in a malicious, delicious smile of glory, and the eyes, the terrible, hell-spawned eyes that burned and tainted and corrupted to the point of insanity. The mouth opened and gave passage to a tongue which ran a slow course around the whitened, terrible teeth.

"_Well met, Hiashi. Glad to see me?"_ The voice was twisted, warped, besmirched with a vile, controlled madness that glittered tangibly in the air.

A passing scientist, spattered with crimson libation, looked up into the air and shrieked.

"_Hiashi-san! It's him! It's 791-543! He's come back and he'll—"_ his scream was cut dead by serrated teeth closing in on his throat. The fox twisted once, ripping out sinew and vessel, then moved on to other prey.

_791-543…_

_How all too familiar were those six dreaded numbers._

_He closed his eyes and thought back, thought back to a long, long, long time ago…_

_Arashi…_

_He gently eased open the door, smiling faintly as the bright patch of unruly blonde hair greeted his vision. Hiashi slid through the opening and silently stole up to the young man completely immersed in various documents and papers. He stood, shifting from foot to foot as the slim figure before him grabbed another sheaf of papers, completely oblivious to his surroundings. _

"_I know you're there, Hiashi-san."_

_It took all of Hiashi's finely honed self-control not to jump. The young man turned around, deep blue eyes glittering mischievously as he twisted his mouth in an oddly devious smirk._

"_I know you don't mean that," he quipped lightly as Hiashi shot him a reproachful stare._

"_Still adamant about that experiment, I see…" the older Hyuuga said with an air of resignation. The blonde man grinned._

"_Of course. I'm almost done, you know. I mean, the Kyuubi's body has been altered…but I just have to stabilize…the…genetic imbalance…" He trailed off, then turned to the stack of papers next to him and plucked out a beige-hued report, scanning it quickly._

"_Genetic imbalance? This will not hinder this so-called Kyuubi, correct?" Hiashi said apprehensively. Arashi blinked._

"_Of course not. At least…" he touched fingers to his lips "I hope not…" He trailed off, looking worried. After a moment's pause, Hiashi dared to venture._

"_Will you eventually tell me what this Kyuubi is all about?" He asked with a careful mixture of curiosity yet restraint. Arashi executed an extravagant about-face, his long white cloak swirling lavishly in the process._

"_You'll find out soon enough." He said with a most saccharine taint to his tone, winking lightly. "That is…if everything works out…I'm worried about the DNA…" He said, his features reverting back to apprehension._

"_Don't worry, genetic imbalances are quite the norm in most experiments. You, the most brilliant of us all, should know that." Hiashi said, earning a mild laugh from the blonde man. _

"_I know, I know, and thanks for the compliment, but still…because it's such a large specimen…well…if anything goes wrong…" Dark indigo eyes shimmered with worry._

"_You'll do fine. Now go home and get some rest." Hiashi reassured him gently. Arashi smiled wanly and packed up his briefcase, exiting the room._

_That Night_

_He was awakened by the cries of the population, cries of terror and sheer fright. Bolting from his bed, he hastened down to catch a glimpse of the source, and was horrified to see a large, looming shape in the general direction of the laboratory. Hiashi bolted from his bed and haphazardly pulled on some clothes, driving like a wild man to the scene of the disaster. _

_Upon arriving at the scene, no sooner had he exited his car than something large and powerful hit him head on and knocked him to the ground. He dazedly picked himself up only to find himself clasped in an embrace by a frantic, wild-eyed Arashi. The young man's normally sparkling eyes shone with fear and a crazed, manic glint. Tears streamed down his face as he gulped shallow breaths of air. His nails left white-rimmed crescents in Hiashi's pallid skin._

"_This…this is…I did this…" He choked out between hiccups. Hiashi gripped his shoulders in a feeble attempt to reassure the frantic man._

"_What do you mean?" Arashi's eyes were livid with a macabre glint of utter fear._

"_This…this…" he flapped a shaking hand at the rampaging monster that towered menacingly over the screaming city. "I did this. This is it. It…it escaped…something must have gone wrong…they're dying, Hiashi, _can't you hear that they're dying?..._and I did this…I created it…"_

_With a jolt of horror, the Hyuuga understood all._

"_You mean…this was your experiment?" He asked incredulously. The blonde man in his arms closed his eyes and nodded with an air of desperation._

"_And now I can't…I don't…I don't know how to stop it…" He sobbed frantically._

_Hiashi turned and swept his eyes to the heavens. A crazed snarl was emanating from the feral image above them, and as spotlights appeared, the Hyuuga's worst fears were confirmed. Looming above them with an air of almost solidified malice was a large, red fox, nine tails sweeping the air with imposing swishes as it bared its lethal canines down at the people. Black slashes cleaved down the middle of its eyes as the bloodred irises glared balefully down at Hiashi's uplifted face. His blood froze to ice as his dark pupils came in contact with the fiend's slitted ones, the crimson liquid slowing to slush, and eventually freezing solid in his veins. The evil that emanated from Kyuubi seemed to suffocate him, squeezing the air from his lungs._

"_There might be a way."_

_Hiashi jerked backwards abruptly as he heard the change in Arashi's tone. The man's formerly terrified voice had changed from fright to resignation as well as a steeled undercurrent of determination. Throwing his cloak behind him in a swirl of white, Arashi turned and stalked into the rutted building. _

"_Where are you going!" Hiashi bellowed frantically. Arashi turned back and seared one last, reassuringly tranquil look into Hiashi's silver eyes. His voice was calm and soft as he spoke._

"_The boy I shall entrust to you…treat him as your own. You must love him as I did, as I still do, as I always will do…promise me you will take care of him. Do for me what I cannot do now, what I will not be able to do in the future." He said serenely, then vanished inside of the building._

Boy…?

_Hiashi's brows came together in utter confusion. Boy? As far as he knew, Arashi bore no son…but then…he did faintly recall that the young man had been working on several experiments besides the now mutinous Kyuubi…could that mean…? A blast rocked the earth, and Hiashi was thrown off his feet. He looked up to see another gigantic figure accompany the first, this in the shape of a large toad, but with a small figure on its head._

_Arashi…?_

"_You will not harm again, Kyuubi! I created you, and now I shall destroy you!" The man shouted from atop the large creature, a regal, majestically imposing figure with his hair and cloak blown back from his face by the swirling winds the two animals created. _

_Kyuubi responded with a roar and coiled himself to attack, saliva flowing freely to the ground. Arashi clasped his hands in a prayer-like gesture, then executed a series of movements. Another seismic blast cruelly blasted the earth, and from the blonde man's hands emanated a pure, soft white glow which steadily grew brighter and brighter until Hiashi's eyes were scalded by the white-hot light. A final, mighty blast shook the terrain once more before the building exploded in a column of blue-white light, illuminating the skies with a gigantic mushroom cloud of charred debris and smoke._

_Minutes stretched into hours as Hiashi frenetically scanned the scene for any sign of Arashi's slim figure. At last, as the smoke cleared, a worn and defeated figure slowly walked triumphantly from the rubble, a small bundle clasped in his hands. Arashi smiled wanly as the light flickered in his brilliant deep-sapphire eyes. Summoning the last of his strength, he gently handed the bundle of blankets to Hiashi, the collapsed on the ground in the arms of the Hyuuga. Arashi struggled to breathe as his eyes flickered with the remaining embers of his lively, vivacious spirit._

"_Hiashi…" His voice was barely a whisper, barely air on the passing wind._

"_Yes?" The Hyuuga responded, cradling the blonde's head in his hands. Arashi turned and lifted a feeble hand, gently stroking the bundle of cloth._

"_Take…care……of………him………" He coughed out, then lowered his gilded lids. A wave of panic took him, and Hiashi roughly shook Arashi's weakened form, eyes livid with sudden urgency._

"_Arashi! No, Arashi…wake up!" He said harshly, pleading that the man would yet live. Wheat-hued lashes fluttered, and once more were the brilliant irises displayed as Arashi gazed into pearlescent eyes._

"_Kyuubi………sealed…in………my child…………" He gasped and struggled for breath, and for a moment, Hiashi witnessed the faintest ghost of a quirk at the corner of the blonde man's mouth, so eerily like the old Arashi he'd knew not hours before._

"_Love…………him…………" _

_Summoning the last vestiges of his energy, Arashi leaned up and tenderly brushed his lips across the blankets, then leaned back and gazed almost lovingly into Hiashi's eyes. For a minute, the fire blazed briefly, illuminating his twin azure eyes so that they glittered and shone with a scorching magnificence that seemed to suck the Hyuuga into a whirling vortex of color, tints and shades of the universe, all the ancient, archaic secrets and legends of the world, the universe…_

_And then the light dimmed, eternally blanketed by the overpowering gentility of the welcoming darkness. Arashi's head tilted gently to the side, his body limp in Hiashi's embrace._

_It was strange. He looked so…so _normal,_ almost as if he were sleeping. Arashi bore a faint smile on his face as he lay lifeless in Hiashi's arms. Oddly enough, the Hyuuga shed no tears for the fallen man; in fact, he felt a sort of uplifting force raise a heavy burden from his shoulders. Gently unwrapping the precious bundle of clothes, he gazed into the face of a baby boy, a blonde-haired boy with three whiskers inscribed in each cheek. The boy opened his eyes and gurgled happily at the sight of Hiashi's face, and in that moment, the Hyuuga could see Arashi's own embodiment in the small, pure frame of the baby. However…deep inside the infant…Hiashi summoned his bloodline's gift to his eyes. Deep inside the boy lay a latent, roiling energy, an evil, wicked energy…and with a jolt of horror, the Hyuuga understood._

_The brilliant young scientist had sealed the Kyuubi inside of this boy._

_Was it just him, or was this child looking at him with something akin to spite in its sparkling clear cerulean eyes? All of a sudden, a blinding flash of red tore across his vision and Hiashi reeled backwards, clutching his temples in agony. Something…it was faintly blurred…but still…it looked eerily like a vision of the future. One figure, one single, solitary figure had singlehandedly caused the apocalyptic destruction, the end of the world. _

_Arashi?_

_Hiashi stifled a gasp as the blurred figure came into focus. This vision…this scene of destruction…Arashi, that benevolent, that kind, handsome, radiant young scientist, was it he who would bring upon the ruin of the world? It certainly looked like him…the same wild, untamed blonde hair…the same clear-cut eyes…even the same telltale twitch at the corner of his mouth…the smirk that was uniquely his…_

_And then he saw the three stripes cross-cutting each cheek, and realized all._

_Not Arashi._

_His child._

_His child that he begged Hiashi to love, to save, to treat as his own offspring._

This child would eventually bring about the ruin of the world, of life itself.

_The young infant gurgled and cooed happily, one hand reaching up to entangle itself in Hiashi's long, black hair. In that instant, the hallucination ended, and suddenly the Hyuuga felt a vile, uninhibited rage encompass the blood in his veins; with a cry of terror and madness, he threw the child from him, hurling it violently to the ground where it tumbled and rolled. The infant, victim to the brutal impact of the ground, surprisingly didn't cry. Cobalt eyes momentarily filled with tears, but quickly dissipated as the child reached out and curiously enfolded between pudgy, clumsy fingers a piece of broken glass, taken by its shiny glittering. Hiashi looked on, an incomprehensible look scrawled over his features, and felt such revulsion that he had to turn away. The child was a demon. Nothing more. He needn't care for such a creature…_

Take care of him.

_Arashi's last wish…_

_But it was not to be. The chain had been broken…and there would be consequences to suffer._

All this he turned over in his mind as the wraith himself stood imperiously overhead on his fire-red fox. The animal lowered its head and snarled, then started towards Hiashi at a breakneck run. Naruto laughed crazily, lips stretched over his teeth like an animal as he bared needle-sharp canines in anticipation for the kill. Hiashi's terrorized face loomed closer and closer, until he could almost _feel_ the throbbing pulse of the artery beneath his teeth, the warmth of fresh, arterial blood on his face…

And then his assault was stopped abruptly by a white blur.

Naruto stood on the ground, disbelief written all over his demonic features as Neji shielded Hiashi's body with his own. To his horror, Neji's eyes had turned an even darker red, now almost black, which, despite the freakishly _normal_ appearance it gave the Hyuuga, positively unnerved the blonde. He wanted Neji's clear opalescent pupils back, not these charcoal-colored twin pools of apathy. Still…now wasn't the time to reminisce…he had business to take care of.

"Neji. Step away from him." He uttered in a guttural snarl. Neji's mouth thinned and he pressed himself closer to his so-called uncle, a sneer of loathing twisted upon his elegant features.

"_Demon. You don't belong here. Go back to hell where you came from."_ He hissed.

For a moment, for a single, brief moment, Naruto closed his eyes and almost appeared human despite his fox-like features. Black-rimmed eyes quivered with pain, and a single sphere of saline liquid slowly tracked its way down his blood-stained face, drawing a pure, white line across the thick, black slashes on his cheek. He opened his eyes, and to Hiashi's surprise, the irises were now a milky purple, with the blue starting to emerge in spots.

_He's fighting the fox…he's actually attempting to battle the demon's consciousness…_

Red suddenly seeped into his eyes, and Naruto reeled back, clutching his head. A shriek burst from his mouth, a long, keening wail that didn't sound human as he rocked back and forth in a crazed attempt to rid himself of the demon.

_**Kill them. They shunned you. They deserted you. They left you for dead. It is time for retribution.**_

The fox's booming voice resonated throughout his consciousness. Slowly, Naruto thought back to the years, to what he'd experienced…the endless tests….the constant neglecting…and the cold, ice-cased white eyes of his caretaker….Hiashi, the man who ruled his life…and Neji…his one friend…his only friend…the one person he could trust in the world save for Iruka….

For a moment, for a very, very brief moment, the red fully retracted from Naruto's eyes, leaving a blazing, dazzling blue that cut through the murky darkness.

"Neji…remember…" The words had barely slipped from his lips when he screamed again and clutched his head, recoiling as the red seeped back into his irises.

"_Fool that you are! You'll die for protecting him." _Kyuubi's deep bass resonated from the depths of the blonde's throat.

Naruto's body suddenly wavered, twitching spasmodically. Surprise registered on his countenance as he suddenly reared back and plunged one claw into his forearm, the blood spurting from the severed veins. Blue dominated once more as Naruto fought valiantly against his inner self, summoning his last efforts in order to regain control. His midnight lashes lightened once more to the pure gold they'd been and the stripes that bound his cheeks crawled back to being mere slashes. Glittering tears cascaded down the side of his face as he took in Neji's tainted gaze.

"Neji…I'm sorry. I'm begging you, step away from Hiashi, or I'll have to force myself to kill you." He said softly. Neji's twisted smirk widened into a sick parody of a grin.

"_I'll kill you first before that, bastard."_ Sensing his chance, Hiashi seized it with full power.

"NEJI! KILL HIM!" Naruto turned away, weeping desperately, but didn't waver from where he stood. Finally he looked up, a cocktail of sadness, bitterness, and desperate anger washing across his eyes.

"Then I have no other choice."

It took all of his efforts just to raise his right foot, to send it set it into motion towards the stubborn Hyuuga. Tears flew from the sides of Naruto's eyes, coagulating into raw droplets that flew behind him like some sort of herald to his mortal journey. Blood ran freely down the sides of his mouth as he bit down hard on his teeth to block out the excruciating pain, the turmoil in his heart as one rigid, vein-lined hand stretched out towards Neji's heart, claws shrieking for blood.

_Neji…_

There was a sickening crunch as bone snapped, dissolving into dust as it was crushed to pieces.

Naruto let out an agonizing shriek that echoed to the sky. Neji had a steel-clad grasp on his pulverized wrist and was twisting it painfully as a slow, warped grin smeared its way on his face like excrement on poor-quality toilet paper. Naruto bit back another throttled howl as Neji's grip tightened, further forcing the shards of his wrist deeper into his flesh. Neji violently spun him so that his chest was exposed, and drew back with his other hand.

_Jyuuken…he's going to use Jyuuken…_

He could dimly hear Kyuubi roaring in his mind that he was about to be killed, but Naruto didn't remotely care. It was as if his mind remained detached, lost in its own atmosphere as Neji's lethal fingers started their fatal thrust towards his heart. It was ironic, really, he thought as tears continued their descent down his cheeks. He, Uzumaki Naruto, having survived countless bombs, knives, and basically everything else under the sun, was going to be killed by a pair of fingers. What a fitting way to die, he thought, as twin alabaster digits imbedded themselves deep into his heart, releasing the deadly energy to corrupt his veins. Killed by the one he loved….when he'd survived those who wanted him dead….

One by one, his senses shut down…he could feel his body cease its perpetual tasks, feel his cells make one final attempt to ensure last passage of fluids and substances to their correct destinations before the darkness enveloped him completely, seeping into his brain and clouding his eyes with a dull, engulfing, strangely welcoming mist…

As his lashes came to rest, obscuring the lifeless vision of his pain-filled eyes, he saw something that he would never had noticed before.

The hand of Neji, outstretched to save him.

As his heart stopped its eternal beating, Naruto barely, just barely made out the hint of a tear forming at the corner of the Hyuuga's eye, saw the pure white pupils clouded with horror at the sight before them…and then he sighed and breathed his last breath, releasing a brilliant burst of energy in a blinding explosion of pure, white light.

The brilliant, dazzling, magnificent fox-child, once so bright in his burning, now lay lifeless on the ground.

Oooooooo, I'm ebil, ne? hahaaaaa...cliffie, and this one's huge...hahahaaaaaa...(runs from bloodthirsty reviewers) Ack...until next time...


	16. Hopelessness

Phew...huff...phew...huff...haaaahhh...okay. I'm back from Hawaii...(I lub lub lub dat place squeals) Anyhow...yeah, in response to the many "OH MY GAWD I'M GONNA KEEL YA IF YA DON'T POST A RESOLUTION TO THIS CLIFFIE" reviews...here is the awaited chappie. Now, PLEASE don't decide on whether to kill me or not UNTIL you've read the ENTIRE chapter, kay? (prays)

Chapter 16: Hopelessness

He stood, bathed in blood, surveying his surroundings with a sort of dull, throbbing apathy. Bodies lay dead and dying around him; blood occasionally saluted the air in bright, arterial spurts of flashing, crimson red; beasts and people alike writhed in the throes of death; the building was more or less demolished, reduced to nothing but crumbling pillars and malfunctioning machines trying desperately to carry out their last operations. There were spasmodic spatters of red upon the paint-chipped walls, gently oozing to pool in puddles on the sullied ground. His long, dark hair was mangy, matted and slick with dirt and blood, coagulating in sticky clumps that fell in disheveled strings down his body, staining his shirt with blood.

With empty, lifeless eyes, Neji swept his gaze around the macabre scenes of carnage strewn about him like a nightmare-turned-reality. A flash of dull yellow caught his eye and slowly, ever so slowly, he tilted his head down and focused his gaze on the limp, blood-spattered body of a small blonde boy sprawled pitifully on the ground at his feet. Naruto's features were etched into an eternal expression of a strangely eerie peace, a serene tranquility that almost made a paradox of his red-stained figure. His pale white skin gleamed like a beacon in the light of the flickering, dying machines that occupied the rutted building, searing the outline of his body into the Hyuuga's limpid, opalescent eyes.

Neji slowly bent and knelt next to Naruto's body. Half-lidded eyes filled with all the hopelessness the world had to offer focused on the two soft indentations in the blonde's chest. Neji reached out a hand and ran a feather-light touch over the twin bruises that harshly contrasted with the soft cream of Naruto's skin, feeling the faint thrum that vibrated through his nails, the aftermath of Jyuuken's lethal technique. The roaring in his ears grew louder as he recognized the signature of his energy. With deadened, wooden eyes, he then realized that it was he who had killed this magnificent, evanescent creature, that it was he who pinioned the wings of an angel just born.

He lowered himself to Naruto's body, bending himself so his dirtied, filthy hair hung lank over the blonde's face, forming a sort of tattered curtain over the two. Neji gently brushed his nose against the smooth, sloping forehead, then passed his lips over Naruto's brow, sweeping them down to the bridge of his nose until he paused, just scant centimeters from the blonde's cold, cold lips. He could almost feel the nonexistent breath issuing from Naruto's mouth. It was almost, almost there…but not quite, not quite…

Memories upon memories flooded his mind, _had_ flooded his mind since the very moment he'd plunged his fingers into Naruto's chest. Every single day he'd ever lived came flowing in torrents back into his mind, rearranging them in the file cabinet that was his brain. Every last shining moment he'd spent with the blonde…the feelings that overcame him….they all replayed themselves in his mind, shrouding his senses in nostalgic reminiscence. He lowered himself down and gently, ever so tenderly brushed his lips across Naruto's cold, lifeless mouth, faintly surprised that the flesh was still so soft even in death. He whispered, his mouth moving against Naruto's lips in a silent, intimately private mantra, a prayer meant for the two of them, and the two of them only.

"Naruto….Naruto, can you hear me?...I'm….I'm sorry….I'm so sorry…." He let the words trail off, curling like smoke into the air, then slowly got to his feet and walked away.

Knowing it meant nothing to a dead man to hear his killer's apology.

It took them at least three months to clean up the mess and the bodies and rebuild the edifice. Blood, debris, and grime splattered the whole of the desecrated building, making the task of scrubbing a feat to be considered. Construction workers and janitors alike, obeying Hiashi's adamant orders, painstakingly scrubbed, rebuilt, and cleaned every last inch of the building until it stood tall and proud once more, seemingly oblivious to the nightmare that had nearly wiped it off the face of existence. The walls were pristine, the linoleum impeccably clean, and everything gleamed with a sort of radiant energy. Every last ounce of the carnage had been obliterated, leaving no trace of blood or destruction anywhere.

Only the place where Naruto had fallen couldn't be fixed. A permanent blood-spattered indentation had mysteriously appeared in the middle of the floor, which adamantly refused to be pried up despite any futile attempts at pulling the stubborn tiles from their foundation. Shaped perfectly to the outline of the blonde's silhouette, there was a tiny flaw, barely noticeable really, at the very center of the mark, in the shape of a fox against a spiral background. At Hiashi's command, Naruto's body was unceremoniously thrown into a vault where it was frozen, stored for further experimentation. Neji was revitalized from his wearied state, assigned to Tenten who acted as his handler.

Everything returned more or less back to normal. Neji had returned as Hiashi's ward, following the older Hyuuga's commands with seemingly more compliance than ever. He seemed much like himself, moving and speaking with a trademark ever-present delicate elegance not even Hiashi could match, but a certain current of underlying apathy had suddenly appeared in his manner of work. Also lacking was the special glint that sparkled in Neji's eyes; upon taking a closer look, the opalescent orbs of the younger Hyuuga seemed dead, wasted, almost like someone had painted them on his face, giving him a hauntingly wooden look. Hiashi could only blame that on the death of Naruto, which, according to his point of view, was a necessary sacrifice for the well-being of the general good.

Sometime Later

He strode swiftly down the hallways until he came upon a team of scientists which stood observing a large metal vault. Flicking a perfunctory glance at his employees, Hiashi nodded once, and immediately two young men donned in pristine white cloaks grabbed the handles of the vault and pulled. The team recoiled as thick, vaporous steam billowed out of the cache, spilling onto the floor and licking at shoes. Another man reached in and unlocked an intricate series of hooks and latches, bringing out a body. They hastily laid the body on a stretcher and wheeled it away, leaving a few members of the team to lock up the safe. Hiashi matched them pace for pace as they careened down a corridor and through a set of steel double-doors. The scientists painstakingly heaved the body onto a cold, cruel-looking table where various instruments glinted ominously in their cases. The team filed out, leaving only Hiashi and a very apprehensive Hizashi in the room.

"It is time...so soon, Hiashi?" Hizashi's voice sounded a thousand years old.

"We must do it now when the cells are newly frozen or we'll lose significant evidence." Hiashi replied curtly, then fluidly pulled on a pair of gloves. With a sigh, Hizashi executed the barest hint of hesitation, then donned his own pair and took the first instrument out of its case, gingerly handing it to the waiting Hyuuga.

With a thunderous bang, the doors flung open and Neji stalked into the room, jet-black hair cascading down his back in snarls and tangles that almost seemed to compliment the choked gaze of strangled rage upon his face. Upon witnessing Naruto's lifeless body strung so helplessly on the cold metal table, Neji's features twisted into a positively outraged expression, mirrored thrice by the flash of black fire in his eyes.

"YOU! HOW DARE YOU….HOW DARE YOU JUST…JUST **_USE_** HIS BODY LIKE THAT WITHOUT ANY RESPECT?"

Hiashi recoiled, stunned. He had seen Neji when he was angry, countless times in fact, but always the anger had been a controlled, icy calm that slowly seeped into the receiver's soul and froze his entrails until they broke. The Neji before him was livid, enraged and furious, positively blazing with an unseen fire that sent the temperature in the room rocketing up several degrees in less than a second. The younger Hyuuga's hands writhed and spasmed with the desire to kill, to shed the warm, crimson libation flowing through Hiashi's veins, and Hiashi highly suspected Neji wouldn't hesitate to commit the deed given half a chance.

"What do you mean, Neji?" Hiashi said carefully in what sounded like a voice too calm.

"DON'T YOU PLAY IGNORANT WITH ME! YOU'RE VIOLATING NARUTO…NARUTO'S BODY! HE'S DEAD, **_HE'S DEAD,_** AND STILL YOU COMMIT SUCH SACRILEGE!" Neji spat, his face both spark and flint for the flames that blazed around him. Hiashi recoiled.

"Neji…he's dead. He's nothing more than dead cells, and we can use these cells to further our medical advancement—"

It was the wrong thing to say. With a snarl of outrage, Neji coiled and leaped, hands outstretched and shrieking for Hiashi's blood. The older Hyuuga scrambled backwards, panic flashing blatantly in his eyes as he flung any object he could lay his hands on at the oncoming phantom. Quickly addressing a silent prayer for forgiveness to Neji, Hizashi moved with amazing speed, deftly clipping the Hyuuga on the back of the neck. Neji pitched forward with a strangled snarl and collapsed on the ground, sprawled pitifully on the white floors of the lab, struggling to breathe as he attempted to recover. Hiashi was instantly furious.

"Send him away and keep him out of my sight. I want nothing more to do with him for at least a week." He said imperiously, sweeping a hand dismissively at the comatose Hyuuga.

"You…you will not…get away with…"

"Silence, fool. You have deliberately tried to attack me. Now get out." The words were said with such cruel force that Neji could practically see them exploding on the far walls.

"Naruto…you will not…" Hiashi's face twisted into a macabre expression of brilliant, mad glee.

"On the contrary," he said, delicately fingering a long, needle-sharp instrument "I think I will." He lowered the instrument to Naruto's body with a maddeningly slow pace.

"NO—" Neji got to his feet and started forward once more, only to be stopped by a blindingly dazzling white light from the table.

Naruto's body, so cold and vulnerable on the steel of the table, now blazed with a serene yet infuriating white light that completely surrounded him. A slow smile blossomed on his lips as gilded lashes slowly ascended, revealing bright blue eyes misted over with the film of death. For one heartrending moment, Neji felt his soul soar as he witnessed Naruto's blue, blue orbs once more, but then the fox-child's body burst into flames, flames as crimson as the blood that stood frozen in his veins.

"No! We must save the body…HIZASHI! Get the extinguisher!" Hiashi shrieked in an uncharacteristic frenzy, but it was too late.

The flames had completely engulfed Naruto's body, and only a faint silhouette of the blonde could be seen. As Neji looked on in horror, pieces of the shadow began to break apart until it seemed like Naruto's body had crumbled, leaving only flames in its wake. After what seemed like an eternity, the fire died down, leaving the table on which it burned strangely untouched. Naruto's body had gone, disappeared, with nothing left of the corpse whatsoever. A long, tense silence resonated throughout the room as the occupants gazed on in shock. After a period of time, Hiashi shakily broke the stillness, issuing a wearied moue of dismissal.

"Leave me."

Hizashi instantly turned and slipped from the room, leaving only Neji standing tall in the center of the area. After quietly surveying the man before him with an unreadable expression in his eyes, he turned to go, only to feel something small, something evanescent, something barely recognizable, and yet something quite…quite familiar curl around his body and brush against his mouth. Eyes widened as he suddenly felt enveloped in Naruto's presence, but the next second it was gone, leaving Neji quite in doubt that he felt something at all.

He was confident of one thing though. Even in death, Naruto hadn't entirely disappeared, and he highly suspected the magnificent blonde wraith would be back for retribution when the situation was ripe for the harvesting.

(cackles maliciously) I'm so ebil to my poor Neji...(hugs him) awwww...there there...TT but that's the way it has to be...TT


	17. Day of Reckoning

Sorry for the long wait, and I knoooowww I'm being REAAALLLYY mean to all the characters right now (hugs Neji in apology TT) butbutbut...well...you'll see...

I got many comments about "IS THIS GONNA BE THE END OF THE FIC! NOOOO! (insert scream here)" and just to tell you now, I ain't the person to leave things hanging at the end of a fic...(winks)

Chapter 17: Day of Reckoning

Time had passed.

Years took their toll, changing little and altering a lot, but yet…some things stayed exactly the same.

But after that day, after that incident, the thing that remained most cruelly lacking was the special vivacity a certain Hyuuga had for life, only to be replaced by a dead, empty blankness which seemingly infested his soul, spreading throughout his whole entire body until he was practically drowning in nothingness.

Flashback

"_You know you shouldn't have done that." Tenten said lightly as she ran fingers through Neji's silken black hair. The Hyuuga remained silent, eyes staring blankly into nothingness, not even noting the blatant comment the girl had made about his attack on Hiashi._

"_Really, those who disobey Hiashi will have to face the consequences." She continued. Opalescent eyes lowered to half-mast as Neji absently made a moue of perfunctory agreement. He felt Tenten shift behind him, as well as a faint tug on his hair._

"_Oh rats, I think I got something tangled…" the brunette murmured as she tried to free fingers from the grasp of Neji's locks._

_Something long dormant suddenly stirred in his heart, then seeped its way into his veins like wax through a mold. Heat came alive in his eyes and swirled its way into the pupils, filling them with a white, searing light that seemed to set his irises on fire. Every muscle, sinew, tendon, and ligament suddenly tensed to the point of snapping in his body as memories once more flooded his mind with nostalgic images, images of a certain blonde that used to stroke slender fingers through his hair with a dreamy, blissful expression of joy and wonder carved so transparently on his foxlike features….._

_In a violent jerk, Neji whirled and ripped his hair from Tenten's surprised hands, eyes blazing with a swirling cocktail of fury, livid desolation, and bitterness._

"_You will not EVER touch my hair again." He hissed. Tenten reeled back, stunned and terrified at the Hyuuga towering over her._

_Neji's jaw worked furiously as he struggled to say something else, eyes glittering with unshed anguish and frustration, but he abruptly turned away, staring with great torment into a deep void of nothingness. Slim fingers found a knife lying nearby, and in one great, sweeping, and utterly shocking motion, the Hyuuga closed his eyes and cleanly severed his mane of raven hair with one slice of the serrated blade. _

_Tenten reeled backwards, stunned, as Neji's thick tresses fell limply to the ground in a sweeping rain of black. The Hyuuga knelt and, with a mournful but utterly determined air, silently gathered up the flaccid strands, slipping out of the room without so much as a word to the shell-shocked brunette on the floor. Tenten watched him go in a mixture of torment and astonishment, eyes riveted to the close-cropped hair that stood up in odd, rough-edged angles._

_He walked up to his room, ignoring the twin glances of amazement from both Hiashi and Hizashi, as well as various gasps and mutters from random scientists. Closing the door, Neji reached into his dresser drawer, fumbling for a slim white box. Opening the case, he stared blankly at the single strand of pure, gold-spun yellow that lay serenely in the deep velvet lining, then neatly folded and twisted his hair and tenderly laid it next to the strand, closing it with a definitive snap. A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, and for a moment, the fire long burnt out flared up again in his eyes as he fondly caressed the ivory casket. It burned brightly, ever so brightly as memories flooded his brain once more, but slowly died and lay dormant as Neji turned away, answering to the summons of his creator._

_And it wasn't until seven years later that the sparks ignited once more, calling the depths of his soul out of their pitch-dark cavern._

End Flashback

They were engaged, were Tenten and Neji. Hiashi had obviously thought that his two creations were a good match, and so requested that they wed. Neji showed no sign of resisting, so engaged they became, and Tenten bounced around the laboratory proudly flaunting a sparkling diamond ring to anyone willing to pay attention. Neji didn't particularly care, and sometimes even displaying a cordial contentment that was more out of formality than anything else, but when he was alone, the limitless pools of white in his eyes would fade to a dark, ominous grey, and he would spend hours just lying on his bed, reliving moments of long, long ago.

Several times Tenten had come into his room during the night, dressed in nothing but a revealingly sheer nightgown. She would slide herself onto his bed and whisper sweet nothings into his ear, running fingers lightly over his shoulders and chest as she did so. Neji let her, though he paid her no heed even when she boldly caressed his chin-length hair, entangling her hands in his overhanging bangs. He let her undress him, let her kiss him to her content, but when they were both free of clothing and lying on the bed, Tenten straddling his hips, he wouldn't, or _couldn't _commence with the actual lovemaking, for he was never excited around the girl. He just…wasn't motivated, despite Tenten's repeated efforts of trying to rouse carnal provocation from him. At first, Tenten was sorely disappointed, often dissolving into tears at his side, complaining bitterly about how they were supposed to be a couple, but after a while when her grievances continuously fell on deaf ears, she gave up, and now seemed content with just kissing the Hyuuga until she fell asleep at his side.

Neji himself went along with whatever she administered to him, but found no pleasure in the acts. His kisses were absent and distant, his mind floating elsewhere, oblivious the strokes and ministrations Tenten performed on his body. Surprisingly she never went below his waist, despite his lack of resistance. Neji highly suspected that were she to provoke even a minute response from him, she'd have him on the bound and sated on the bed, but since he never provided even an ounce of attention to her, he'd successfully managed to keep her off of his virginity for a while. That was, until they were married, during which she would probably sneak something akin to aphrodisiac into his drink and….the Hyuuga winced, thinking of the consequences. He'd deal with that when the time came, most definitely he would.

It was during one cloudy morning when Hizashi padded softly to Neji's door, rapping gently on the frame. When no response came, the older Hyuuga frowned, puzzled. It wasn't like Neji to stay asleep this late, but then again, the particularly tempestuous storm last night didn't do wonders for enticing any sort of rest. That storm….heavy brows came together in a thoughtful scowl as Hizashi thought over the events of the preceding night. There was a strange, vibrant energy interlaced within the storm, energy of raw and pulsing magnitude that seemed strangely familiar yet inexplicably indeterminate, despite any efforts on his part. Perhaps it signaled a day of reckoning.

Hizashi sighed and turned his attention once more to the door, rapping more tartly this time with a curt "Neji, it's time to get up". When his call was met with yet another wave of silence, the older Hyuuga heaved a wearied breath and summoned up Byakugan, trying to peer into the contents of the room.

He jerked backwards and nearly fell at the pain in his eyes which shot straight to his forehead.

What…what was this? A strange sort of barrier had erected itself in Neji's room. The energy was Neji's, no doubt about that; Hizashi could detect the signature of energy surging within the walls, but as to _how_ Neji had learned to construct such a force field was beyond him. Neji really was a prodigy to be able to enact such a thing, Hizashi thought with a wry twist of his lips, though he'd never seen any trace of motivation whatsoever in the young Hyuuga. The only way to get past the barrier was by ramming a huge amount of energy into the caging of energy, which required a little more strength than he was equipped with…Hizashi turned and silently slipped down the hallway, alerting Tenten who was currently at work in the lab.

The duo stood staring at the door to Neji's bedroom. At Hizashi's nod, Tenten slammed shoulders into the door, effectively cracking the hinges and breaking it down. The barrier fell away, only to reveal a startling sight in the middle of the room.

"Hizashi-san…"

Never before in his life had Hizashi seen such a sight. Neji was kneeling in the middle of the room, his eyes more alive than ever before in the seven years since the incident, but...spread like threads of silk across the entirety of the room, entangling in the carpet and spilling almost languorously across the room was…

"Neji! _Your hair!"_

And indeed it was.

Gone were the close-cropped locks that crowned the Hyuuga's regal head. Neji looked exactly as he did seven years ago, his long, dark tresses pooling like water throughout the room, although his hair had grown to such a length that it had spread throughout the whole room, entangling furniture and carpets alike in its dark, midnight grasp. With a flicker of a glance at Hizashi that told him she'd handle the situation, Tenten started forwards and began to pile up the hair, rolling it neatly into a ball which she deposited at Neji's side.

"What do you think caused this?" She asked him urgently. Neji arched a lean, sculpted shoulder.

"I do not know. When I woke up in the morning and went to change my clothes, my scalp started to itch and suddenly….my hair started growing….I tried to cut it, but it grew too fast…" He trailed off thoughtfully. Locating a pair of scissors, Tenten set to work at his hair with a sigh, only to be waved off by the Hyuuga.

With a look at his eyes, Tenten nearly choked, almost swallowing her tongue. The glimmer so unique to the Hyuuga was back, and, if possible, burning even brightly than before. It stripped away the years so that Neji looked vibrant and young, his smile genuine and his body pulsing with vivacity and the will to live, so unlike the closed-off recluse Tenten had known for seven years. A truly broad, almost foolish grin had stretched itself over his face, and the radiance the Hyuuga projected was positively dazzling, so much that Tenten almost felt the need to shield her eyes from the brilliant Hyuuga.

"Neji…what happened?"

Gently plucking the scissors from her fingers, Neji shook back his hair with an old, familiar gesture.

"I think I'd like my hair to be knee-length, thank you."

Deftly snipping at the locks, the Hyuuga carefully trimmed the edge of his locks, depositing the rolled-up bundle of excess tresses underneath a nearby table. He swung back and spun around elatedly, marveling in the nostalgic weight of his hair upon his back.

_The casket…_

Eyes flashed in excitement as Neji barreled through to his room, wrenching open the drawer that contained the white box. Fingers trembled, fumbled with the clock, inserted the key, opened the box, and there…there, so marvelously carved…the mane of hair he'd sheared off seven years ago was still intact, only this time the yellow strand was wrapped around them and quivering with a latent energy that demanded to be released.

"What are you doing?" Tenten asked suddenly from behind him.

Neji whirled and slammed the casket closed, pasting what he hoped was a furtive smile on his face.

"Nothing, really. Just checking to see if my valuables were still intact." He remarked breezily. Tenten frowned, trying to see behind Neji's back.

"Are you sure? Since when do you have valuables?"

It was at that moment that the casket trembled and expelled a force that swept Neji's hand away with a burning thrust. The strand of yellow rose in the air, trembled for a second, then shot straight to Tenten's surprised countenance, quickly fixating itself in her scalp and becoming a lock of brilliant wheat-bronze hair. The girl spun back, clutching her head with a scream as a white-hot energy engulfed her body, and then….Neji grasped the nearest object that would support his weight as he gazed upon the awesome phenomenon.

Tenten's normally chocolate-brown eyes were a startling shade of clear azure-blue.

A faint thread of air expelled itself from the Hyuuga's lungs as the girl slowly stood, an all-too-familiar smirk smeared like grease all over her face. Tenten was the same…she had the same features, the same clothing, but…the way she was walking…that walk was too knowing, that smile…was too….

Too…

Lips twisted in a devious smirk.

"Hello again, Neji-kun."

Utterly stunned, the Hyuuga stepped backwards, astonishment naked in his opalescent eyes. The truth was almost too good to believe, but oh he so _desperately_ wanted to believe it…the words slipped almost involuntarily out of his mouth.

"_Naruto!"_

A/N: Due to some sort of error on the page, I couldn't put line breaks where I wanted them to be (curses the comp TT) so I apologize if the "Flashback" and "End Flashback" seem too abrupt.


	18. Revelations

It was Tenten in the flesh, no doubt about that. The same lilt in the nose, the same rounded face, the same hair, but Naruto looked out through her brilliant blue eyes. Tenten, or at least her body, sauntered sassily towards the shocked Hyuuga, her mouth oddly warped, and it was then that Neji knew that the long-dead blonde had taken possession of the girl's body. However….

"Naruto…is it really you?" He asked in a whisper. Lips twisted in a wry smirk.

"Dare you suggest another?"

Oh god, the voice was the same, undoubtedly feminine and in the high pitch that was uniquely Tenten's, but the air, the _manner_ which flowed around the body of the girl…how could he have any uncertainties? But still...years of experience railed on his brain, cautioning him to test this strange entity. Naruto, or rather his spirit, seemed to acknowledge this caution; he was looking at the Hyuuga with a rather forlorn look in his eyes.

"How did you…how did…." Neji balked, at a loss for words.

"I'll explain later. Follow me for now; I have things to tell you. And take that strand of my hair with you." Neji hurriedly wrapped the silken strand of gold around his finger.

Eyes faded back to a dulled umber, and for a moment Neji felt a pang of alarm that the blonde had so soon vanished, but when Tenten strode across the room to the door, her step was the light, buoyant step of the wraith in her body, quickly banishing any remaining doubts that lingered in Neji's mind. She opened the door, nodded to an expectant Hizashi, and led Neji down the many twists and turns of the hallways down to a certain niche of the laboratory.

The duo finally came to a halt before two imposing steel-wrought double doors. Naruto reached out and slid a nail down a small, practically infinitesimal crack in the metal, and immediately a series of clicks, snaps, and whirs answered his action. The doors slid open just enough to allow entrance to a slender individual; motioning furtively for the Hyuuga to follow, Naruto slipped inside, Neji in tow, and closed the door with a snap.

Groping his way along the walls, slim fingers found a switch, and Neji flicked upwards. Blinding white light suddenly filled the room, giving birth to a vision that was all too familiar. Neji nearly tripped over his feet at the sight before him, and suddenly his tongue felt too big for his mouth, constricting his airways and causing him to gasp.

"This…this place…." Naruto nodded grimly.

"Yes. It was where you were born, wasn't it?" He whispered. Neji passed a hand over his eyes and swept a gaze over the eerily familiar machines, pausing ever so slightly on the gigantic test tube in the middle of the room. With a rueful look at the stunned Hyuuga, Naruto turned his face upwards and spread his arms wide.

"This place. This is the place where we all were created, each and every single one of us. Countless humans, both successes and failures, were spawned from that tube." He stopped mid-sentence and let out a sigh that made him suddenly seem a hundred years old.

"We weren't the only ones who were created here, you know." He said softly. Neji looked up, quickly grasping the situation.

"What happened to the rest?" He asked, afraid to know the answer yet already informed. Lips curved up in a sad smile.

"They were killed." His worst fears were confirmed by the three small words that slipped like silk from Naruto's mouth.

"They were used as tests, as specimen, as subjects for Hiashi's experiments. He wanted to combine every single one of their advantageous traits into a single human being, a super being, the closest thing to a god. He extracted those traits, studied them to their full potential, and when he was done with the subjects, he had them killed. Dissolved back into just lumps of genetic material." Naruto concluded, smiling wanly at Neji's horrified expression.

"And the reason you haven't been killed, the reason why you haven't yet been tested…"

"Is because I am that creation, that epitome of perfection?" Neji finished for him, with an expression of mortified horror. Naruto slowly nodded.

"Yes. Which means you have something of me in yourself. I was lucky enough to have the sense to escape before they finished testing me. Hiashi, afraid I would expose all to the world, has been tracking me for several years. And he believed that he finally succeeded that moment that you killed me." He said, then smirked as Neji opened his mouth. "And don't waste your breath on apologizing. I forgive you."

"I…don't know what came over—"

"I'll ignore any other excuses you try to feed me, Neji. You were under Hiashi's control, so it wasn't your fault. And if it isn't your fault, stop blaming yourself, because if you blame yourself, I'll get mad and leave, which will bring us back to square one until I can make another deal with Kami-sama to possess someone else." He inhaled deeply, then sighed.

"I already bargained off all my possessions to appear to you like this, and even then Kami-sama said I had to possess _her._" Tenten's shoulder arched as Naruto executed a frustrated shrug. "Her body's SO uncomfortable, I can't see how she STANDS it…" He muttered. Neji found it rather hard to keep a straight face.

"Anyhow, we're not here to dawdle all day long. I've spent the last seven years studying Hiashi and his building, and I think I can come up with a way to get my own body back again, but I'll need your help." He turned to Neji, searing the Hyuuga with a scalding stare sodden with intensity.

"My question is: are you willing to help me?" He asked in a dead whisper. Neji drew back, confused.

"Of course." As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But why are you so worried?"

"You have been under Hiashi's regime for about all of your life now. If you want to do this, it means going against and possibly killing him, so I need to know if you have any doubts." He said, eyes blazing brilliantly in the bright lights of the room.

Neji bit his lip, opalescent eyes glittering worriedly. True, he had indeed been greatly influenced by his creator, but not to the point that he'd change his views just because Hiashi thought differently. And there was that one incident…a long time ago…when, in a blinding rage, he'd tried and almost succeeded in killing the man…

"I'll do it." A smile broke out on Naruto's face.

"Good. We start right away." he said, then whirled on his heel and strode quickly to the machinery. Neji quickened his pace to keep up.

"W-wait…what am I supposed to do?" At this, Naruto paused, thoughtfully tapping a nail against the corner of his mouth.

"Oh yeah…I didn't tell you what I had planned, did I?" He said in a somewhat sheepish tone. Neji barely refrained from rolling his eyes, but nevertheless stayed silent.

"All right. There's a certain process that, if performed correctly, will convert the genetic material every single cell in a body to that of one's choice. Using that strand of my hair, we'll input the genetic material into the converter. I'll get into the test tube, during which time I'll need you to monitor the progress. If I'm correct, it will take about three hours to complete. Once the process is done, I'll have my own body back again." He said candidly. Neji blinked.

"But…you're in Tenten's body…" He trailed off. Silence resonated loudly around the room until Naruto spared him the worry.

"Yes…which means that her body will be replaced with mine. Tenten will, in essence, cease to exist, because I will have converted her cells to mine…and as for her soul…" he arched a casual shoulder, then incinerated Neji with another stare. "After hearing that….are you sure you want to do this? After all….you did live with her…." He trailed off. Neji's mouth twisted into a somewhat dry expression.

"I don't recall saying I enjoyed living with her." He remarked lightly. Naruto turned away, blue eyes glittering with a strange emotion.

"Yes, but…after all, she's human….and yet another victim of Hiashi's….I kinda feel sorry for her." He said softly.

"I know….but….do you not think it would be better for her to die now, at our hands, a painless death, than to be carved up later by Hiashi when she has exhausted her usefulness?" Neji's comment had a dull ring to contrast the stark reality.

"I guess so…." Naruto answered absently. Silence reigned supreme for a long period of time.

"Well, we can't dally any longer, since Hiashi might come in here any minute…." The blonde muttered, turning thoughtfully to the numerous blinking lights on the dashboard of the machine. Pressing buttons at random, Naruto brought up a screen, clicked a mouse once or twice, then turned to the waiting Hyuuga.

"When I give the signal, press the small blue button in the middle of the dashboard. The light will go red, and the tube will start to fill with liquid. When it's completely full, pull the candy-cane thingamahoozit there to start the metamorphosis, kay?" Neji nodded curtly, then strode quickly to the machine, drinking in the various sights and information before him.

"Very well. I wish you luck, Naruto." He said sincerely. With a wry smirk, the blonde clapped a reassuring hand on Neji's shoulder.

"Yeah. I mean hey, if worse comes to worst, I can always possess someone else…" he murmured mischievously, then grinned as Neji shot him a scandalized look. "Just kidding. But you knew that already."

Turning to the imposing glass cylinder erected in the middle of the room, Naruto opened a latch and pulled open a large piece of rubber, exposing a small passageway. He stooped, effortlessly slid his body into the base of the machine, and closed the door. Seconds later, the blonde reappeared on a small metal platform inside the glass receptacle, upraised like some sort of maladjusted trophy in a gilded case. Cocking his head to the side, the blonde flicked a smirk at the waiting Hyuuga, who nodded once and pressed the button gently with his thumb.

At once, emerald-green liquid started to fill the casket in which the blonde was encased. Naruto looked oddly serene as he stood almost angelically on the upraised platform. The water lapped at his feet, then slowly slid up his body and over his head, rising quickly to the ceiling accompanied by small, greenish bubbles. Completely submerged in the substance, Naruto closed his eyes and just floated, Tenten's brown hair wafting lazily around her face, making her seem like some sort of mermaid.

Neji allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy the view, then slid fingers around the lever and pulled.

The tube nearly exploded with a brilliant white light that seemed to pour itself into every orifice of the stunned Hyuuga. Just as quickly as it had come, it died down to a pulsing dimmed white sphere, surrounding the body of the girl Naruto had possessed. The ball floated almost lazily in the middle of the tank, emitting a peaceful, almost tranquil aura.

Neji was far from being anywhere close to tranquility. The Hyuuga bit nervously on a nail, flicking a glance every once in a while at the door. Minutes seemed like hours as Neji continued to survey the progress, extending a Byakugan-enhanced view as far as he could see. He jumped and barely refrained from shouting when a figure passed by his view, then went slack once more as the passing scientist continued obliviously on his way. The Hyuuga slanted a furtive glance at the white cocoon enveloping Naruto, praying that for once in his life, everything would go as planned.

Plans, however, had a tendency to go awry. And despite the measured safety precautions, Neji had a deep feeling in his gut that told him Hiashi would know.

Because Hiashi always knew.


	19. Renegada of the Mist

Phew...Huff...phew...huff...

haaahhhh...(wipes brow)

OKAY, for those of you who are following this faithfully, this is indeed the last chapter of this abysmally long story (what am I saying, Eyes of Defiance is TWICE AS LONG! (gasps))...I do apologize for the long wait, since I do have school...TT but yeah. Last chappie.

MANY MANY MANY THANKS GO TO HESEOIC-CHAN (sorry if I spelled your name wrong (cowers under frying pan) TT) WHO FAITHFULLY REVIEWED EVERY STINKING CHAPTER OF THIS FIC! I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU! (gives you cookies)

Chapter 19: Renegada of the Mist

He slept, dozing lightly against a pristine white pillar in the corner of the room, chest rising and falling with a gentle, peaceful rhythm. His long, lanky frame was curled almost beguilingly into the pillar as he slept, hair falling in soft sheets of black down his shoulders, legs crossed casually over one another, arms encircling each other over the blue-white folds of his shirt. Onyx lashes paid homage to the highly sculpted cheekbones beneath them as serenity reigned supreme on Neji's elegant, sculpted features.

The dim white light that lit the room with soft, cool glow seemed to pulse every once in a while, sending shadows dancing across the sleeping Hyuuga. It was utterly silent in the room, but it wasn't a silence of foreboding or tension. This silence was more of a tender, tranquil silence of companionship.

Ironic that it was, for peace couldn't have chosen a worse time to descend.

Naruto's transformation was two-thirds complete; only one hour remained. For the hour, Neji had paced with an air of terse, nerve-wracking apprehension back and forth in front of the door, which only served to wear out his legs. Minutes seemed like days as he flicked gaze after gaze at the square black clock that rested like a sentry on the wall, but after figuring out that time wouldn't go any faster no matter how much he cursed, Neji decided to settle against the wall for a nap that would hopefully calm his rather frazzled nerves.

Lashes stirred and Neji cracked open a bleary eye, then swept it upwards to glance at the pale white sphere that was incased in the giant glass tube. He noted no change in Naruto's state, closed the eye again, and was about to drift off to sleep when something pulled at the vestiges of his vision.

Instantly he was alert, every muscle taut for action. Byakugan flared to life as he stared through the wall, praying with every ounce of his being that Hiashi would not come into the room. A rather well-built figure was coming down the hall of the other room, and with a sickening pang that seemed to shake the foundations of his soul, Neji observed the form of Hyuuga Hizashi stalking down the hallway at a rather fast pace. Neji willed his body to move, to act, to find something to cover up the forbidden transformation that was taking place, but his body wouldn't react and he remained rooted to the spot, watching in terror as Hizashi came closer and closer. Closer…closer yet….oh god, he was level with the door.

He stopped.

Ever so slowly, he turned around.

And activated Byakugan.

Neji stood frozen like a deer in headlights as Hizashi's gaze penetrated his body. In no less than two seconds, the older Hyuuga had thrown open the door, casting eyes upon the circle of light that floated in the middle of the room. His opalescent eyes shone with horror as he gazed upon the spectacle, then ever so slowly came to rest on Neji's guilt-wracked form.

"What. Have. You. Done?" The words were uttered in a hush that whispered of death.

"Please….please don't tell Hiashi…" Neji pleaded, then with a bowed head, began to relate all that had happened since the morning.

He fully expected Hizashi to turn tail and go straight to Hiashi himself. He fully expected Hizashi to destroy the test tube, and then turn on him and send him to hell. But what he truly didn't expect was a pair of fingers which slid under his chin, raising his face level to guileless white eyes.

"Long have I had doubts about Hiashi's plans. Now I have reason to have faith in what is truly right." He smiled cryptically at Neji's stunned expression.

"Go. Do what you must. I will not stop you." Fingers released their grasp on Neji's chin, and Hizashi silently melted out of the room.

He stood quite still, slowly absorbing what had just happened with a rather twisted smile on his lips. He knew, deep down inside, that Hizashi had had his moments when he didn't agree with Hiashi's plans. The older Hyuuga…it took immense bravery to go against his own twin brother. Hizashi was truly a kindred spirit. Neji uttered a silent prayer on behalf of the elderly man.

The sphere in the tube suddenly exploded with energy. Neji reeled backwards as white light streamed from the tube, magnified thrice by the reflection of the glass. Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light was sucked back into the sphere which returned to a gentle, rhythmic pulsing save for the crack that had appeared in the globe. Neji felt the adrenaline seep through his veins like hot wax. Any minute now, Naruto would appear.

With a thunderous crash, the door burst open revealing Hiashi in all of his livid, terrible glory, several scientists as his entourage. With a strangled cry that didn't sound human, the Hyuuga flung himself at the tube, hands outstretched as if to tear it down himself. Neji flung himself in the path of Hiashi's trajectory, plummeting to the ground as the older Hyuuga collided with him full force. Hiashi towered over him on hands and knees, eyes wild with fury.

"_DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE FOOL!" _Neji staggered to his feet, blood oozing from a wound on his forehead.

"Enough, Hiashi. I am no longer yours to command. Now…" At that, lurid luminescence suddenly streamed from his body, engulfing the room in a pale lavender hue.

"Now, I exist only for him."

Hiashi exploded with rage, and lunged once more at the test tube. Ribbons of color streamlined towards him, flicking him away like dust off of a table. Neji, Byakugan blazing, stood tall in front of the test tube, and in his eyes glittered a blazing bonfire of sheer willpower. With a snarl, Hiashi propelled himself towards the younger Hyuuga, and together the two engaged in a terrible dance of lethal ferocity.

–silk—

They danced. How they danced. Elegance personified clashed against fury, engaged in intricate patterns of rune-forged energy.

—whirling smears of color, slicing through the air—

Fire-shot feet tripped and swirled through intricate patterns of elegant Jyuuken.

—maelstrom of power—

Neji reeled backwards, then recoiled and _sprang._

There was a thunderous explosion, and Hiashi fell to the ground.

The glass had exploded, sending needle-sharp shrapnel spiraling in every direction. Neji threw up his arms as the test-tube disintegrated, falling away to unveil a pure white shape that radiated with light. Slowly, ever so slowly, the shape took a form, first blurred, then clearer and clearer with a dazzling eminence that nearly blinded the Hyuuga. Everyone watched in stunned and utter awe as the white fell away, to reveal a very real, a very powerful, and a very triumphant entity.

Lips twisted sideways in a very self-satisfied smirk.

"Glad to see me again?"

Hiashi lunged sideways and scrambled to his feet, racing madly for the door. His entourage parted like the ocean, making a runway towards the door as the desperate Hyuuga jerked forward in his escape. With a chiding click of his tongue, Naruto flicked eloquent fingers, and the door immediately swung closed just a second before Hiashi collided with its frame. The Hyuuga pressed himself against the door, frantic with panic, jaw working furiously but at a loss for words.

"Oh please don't stop the party just for me." Naruto said silkily, head tilted casually to the side. "I so would hate to interrupt." He wafted gently to the floor, then strode over to Neji's form, sliding a pale white arm around the Hyuuga's thin waist. Neji turned and fastened a gaze down at the smiling blonde, pale lips trembling with relief.

"Now, if I do recall, the last time we met, I do believe you owe me a rather large debt…yes?" Naruto continued, passing a finger over his lips. "After all, a life can be somewhat expensive, do you not agree? Not to mention the lives of all the other poor, unfortunate souls who died at your hands."

"How did you know about that?" Hiashi whispered in a deadened hush.

"I met a few in the happy place up above." Naruto countered with a delicious grin. "They told me to say hi."

Hiashi's smile was ghastly as he withdrew a small handheld device hidden in the folds of his jacket lapel.

"Neji will greet them as my proxy." Large fingers depressed a button.

A scream forced itself past Neji's stiff, pallid lips as the Hyuuga crumpled to the floor, writhing in agony, fingers clawing maniacally into his neck. Naruto instantly dropped to his side, gently prying Neji's spasming hand from the lesion. Cornflower eyes widened at the horrific sight; a small red light was blinking ominously at the juncture of the Hyuuga's neck and shoulder while venomous black ooze roiled almost lazily underneath his skin.

"Once the light stops blinking, he'll explode. And if you try to take it out, it will immediately kill him." Hiashi's voice dripped of sickening triumph as he spoke, a grin pasted on his face which stretched his lips over his teeth like an animal. Cerulean eyes narrowed ferally.

"You have done your last."

Two simultaneous bursts of energy exploded from the blonde's arms, shearing off the corrupted portion of Neji's shoulder while violently sending Hiashi backwards into the opposite wall. Neji gritted his teeth and tried not to scream as the blast neatly cauterized his skin, leaving the smell of burning flesh in its wake. Naruto knelt and infused his shoulder with another surge of energy, and Neji let out a strangled breath as he felt the pain diminish and his skin mend.

"You will sleep now, Hiashi. This tension between us has endured for too long." Naruto spoke imperatively.

The blonde tilted his head back and raised his arms to the heavens like some sort of ethereal ballerina. A swirling ball of blue-white power began to materialize in the middle of his hands, then grew larger and larger until the room warped from the power of the blaze. The mass of energy swelled and took the shape of a regal, majestic fox which grew in size until it completely engulfed the room in its awesome form. A glimmer of set determination seared the depths of Naruto's eyes, and Neji, from his station on the ground, knew somehow that this was the end. He feebly sat up, only to meet the struggling gaze of his mentor. Hizashi stood in front of him, a deeply troubled yet unduly relieved expression chiseled on his lined features. Neji struggled to speak.

"Hizashi…this place will be destroyed…you with it…you must get out before…." Hizashi stopped the younger Hyuuga with a rueful shake of his head. He strode forward and knelt beside Neji, gently caressing his jaw with a forlorn smile.

"You should escape. You have a new life now, one which you should cherish with Naruto." He said with a wistful smile that suggested eons of wisdom. Neji was persistent in spite of himself.

"No…even though you were Hiashi's twin brother, you alone were innocent. Don't let that innocence die, Hizashi-san. Come with us…start your life over…." Hizashi averted his eyes, a glitter of reminiscence passing over his face. Sighing deeply, he spoke.

"My brother was once an honorable man; I choose to remember him so. Now go. Save yourself and your precious one. It is my duty to stay here."

"There's a difference between duty and desire." Neji began, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth than Hizashi placed gentle fingers on his lips.

"Speak no more." He stepped back and returned to his post among the scientists with a last, enigmatic gaze at the stunned Hyuuga. Somehow Neji knew it was the right thing, and pressed the man no further.

Just then, deep inside, something stirred within Neji's soul and he slowly stood as if manipulated by a puppet master, deftly wrapping an arm around Naruto's waist. The blonde looked up and caught opalescent eyes with his own azure ones. For a moment, time stood still, and a deep sense of naked intimacy coupled with a timid, almost delicate feeling of trust.

Then, enveloped in a blazing blue sphere, the two skyrocketed out of the building just as it imploded in a spiraling tempest of raw azure power.

As he flew through the sky, airborne on a wave of energy, Neji looked back and sent a silent prayer towards Hizashi and Hiashi, wishing them prosperity in the next world to come. Lips crimped in a wry smile as he slanted a glance at Naruto's serene profile, turned upwards like as if to caress the heavens themselves, and then Neji closed his eyes altogether, a full-fledged smile stripping away the years from his features as he disappeared into the sun.

_Peace reigns supreme when storms undermine._

Owari

Stay tuned, epilogue coming up!


	20. Epilogue

Okay guys, this is it.

First of all, I'd like to dedicate my heartfelt thanks to Heosic-chan, who's faithfully reviewed every single chap of this fic. I'd also like to dedicate this fic to all of my wonderful NejiNaru fans. Thanks for making it possible, guys.

Okay, now enough with the corny mush...

AND LET'S FINISH THIS PUPPY!!!

Epilogue:

It was a cool, soft night, and they treated it as such, did Naruto and Neji. Sleek, supple bodies lay slack-limbed on Neji's bed, limp with the drowsy liquor of satiation. Naruto's bare, chiseled shoulder blade was crooked up on the Hyuuga's chest, molding nicely into the line of Neji's torso. The blonde sighed and shifted slightly, arching the kinks out of his back, then unstuck his thigh from Neji's and swirled pearl-white sheets around the Hyuuga's exquisitely long figure, smiling sleepily all the while. Neji turned and brushed a soft kiss across Naruto's mouth, lips twisting amusedly as Naruto drew back and sneezed. The blonde looked up, violet-blue eyes misted over with languid curiosity.

"What are you thinking about?" He slurred somnolently. Neji laughed low in his throat, then ran a slender finger down the bridge of Naruto's nose.

"If I told you, you'd leave me for good." He retaliated teasingly. This drew the blonde up on one elbow as Naruto's interest quickly sparked.

"Really? Try me." He probed. Neji's smile was more of a warping of his mouth.

"Well I shan't spoil your untrained ears with the rather grisly details…"

"Come on. Pleeeeezzee?" Naruto's eyes were luminous in the moonlight streaming in from the window.

"Rather nasty, indecent, or nastily indecent thoughts, I suppose…." The Hyuuga trailed off casually. After a moment of shocked silence, Naruto scrunched up his face.

"EWWWW! I NEVER KNEW YOU WERE A PERV—" A hand clapped itself over the blonde's flapping mouth.

"I was joking. Now settle down, or you'll wake up the rest of the tenants in the complex." A second later, Neji abruptly pulled his hand away and scrubbed it vigorously on the nearest piece of sheet. Naruto wagged his tongue at the scandalized Hyuuga.

"Be careful now. My tongue's been in more places then one." He purred suggestively. Neji turned away and muttered something that vaguely sounded like "tongue actions" and "illegal", which enticed a laugh out of the blonde.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It's nothing compared to my _hand_—"

"Na-ru-to, if you want this pleasant little tryst to remain _secret_—" Neji moaned after recovering himself, sending the blonde into paroxysms of laughter. Naruto rolled over and nuzzled Neji's long, pale neck.

"You're so uptight, Neji, calm down." He settled for running light fingers down the Hyuuga's smooth torso, which Neji found rather stimulating.

"Actually….if you want to know the truth…I was thinking about Hizashi." The Hyuuga mused thoughtfully. The feathery sensations momentarily ceased as Naruto stiffened beside him.

"Hizashi?" Neji nodded, sweeping a crystal-cut gaze up at the ceiling.

"He sacrificed so much in the name of his brother's cause….but in the end, decided to stay with Hiashi….one doesn't see that kind of loyalty every day." Neji finished with a reminiscent edge to his voice. Naruto nodded after a moment's silence.

"Yeah…I can see the nobility in that…." He sighed. "I didn't know him personally….yeah, I'd seen him around, when I was newly made, and we'd talk once in a while, but that was it…." He trailed off.

"I'll miss him. Hizashi was the closest thing I could ever have to a real father." Neji murmured softly, one hand absently skidding back and forth along Naruto's slim waist.

"Really? Well…I suppose so….he was your caretaker after all, even though Hiashi was your true creator…." Naruto speculated. "Do you ever regret being….created?" He asked gently. A long period of silence passed as Neji pondered his answer.

"Sometimes….when I see children with their parents, I tend to wonder what it would be like to have a proper family….but then….other times, when I need my peace, I appreciate not having to go through the normal hassles that families usually experience…." He murmured vaguely. "But overall, I don't regret being created. Besides…." He tenderly licked the corner of Naruto's mouth. "I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't."

"Yes, thank you, I know I'm totally awesome…." Naruto said breezily, startling a laugh out of the Hyuuga.

They lay together as a companionable silence took the baton once more. Neji eyed Naruto askance out of one pearlescent orb, flicking a hazy gaze down the blonde's body before lingering ever so slightly on the faint discoloration that marred Naruto's chest. Guilt spawned in his veins, and Neji reached out, slowly running gentle fingers over the place where he'd delivered the fatal blow so many months ago.

"It will not disappear?" He asked, remorse glittering patently in his tone. Naruto glanced down, then executed a moue of dismissal.

"Will you stop worrying about it? What's in the past is in the past…but no, I don't think that'll ever disappear." He whispered softly, stilling Neji's wandering hand with one of his own. Opalescent eyes glimmered with a tiny spark of lingering shame.

"I'm sorry." Neji's apology was heartfelt. Lips curved up in a smile as Naruto nodded gently.

"Could have been worse…." The hand gripping Neji's started to migrate south. "Could have been _lower_…and then we'd _both_ be sorry."

Neji's laugh briefly hung in the air, then wafted out the open window and was lost in the moonlight like a wisp of smoky mist.

Owari

I'm out, peoples! Thanks again! The past five months have been swell. (winks) so...until the next time we meet.

Silver-eyed Hyuuga


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